


Digital Revolution

by Glensather



Category: RWBY
Genre: Action, Alternate Universe - Cyberpunk, Alternate Universe - Future, Conspiracy, Drama, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, F/M, Friendship, Humor, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, POV First Person, White Rose - Freeform, a bit of angst, eclipse - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-04-09
Packaged: 2019-03-18 08:25:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 56,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13677963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Glensather/pseuds/Glensather
Summary: "Watch your back, shoot straight, conserve ammo, and never,ever, cut a deal with a Schnee."These are the main rules of being a Shadowrunner.Ruby Rose forgot that last one.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A quick word, but you don't need to know anything about the Cyberpunk genre or Shadowrun - which mostly inspired this story - to read this. It's mostly flavor and some terms and concepts. At its heart, it's still a RWBY story.
> 
> Characters WILL be different on the outside, but their cores are still there. They've just been beaten down by the nature of the genre.
    
    
    [Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...]

All I can hear is my breathing.
    
    
    [EmeraldBIOS 1.0
    AtlasTech LTD.]

No... also my heartbeat. It's thumping in my ears like a drum. What happened?
    
    
    [Atlas Processor v 4.4 Quad-Core 3.6GHz
    1024M System RAM Passed
    65536M Extended RAM Passed
    2160M Cache SRAM Passed]

Someone is talking to me. I can't quite understand them... sounds like I'm underwater. Wait...  
An avalanche of computer code explodes in front of my eyes. Almost hurts to look at.  
  
"-up... wake up..." I hear her now. She sounds so far away. I know that voice? Yes, I KNOW that voice! "Ruby! WAKE UP!"
    
    
    [USER: Xiao Long, Ruby
    Confirmed
    Welcome Back, Miss Rose
    Loading HUD...]

I can smell the smoke, feel the heat of a fire I can't see. All I can hear is her voice. I focus on it.  
  
"Yang? What-" I cough, smoke burning my lungs. "What happened?"  
"It was a trap. They're on to us. We've got to move!"  
I feel a pair of powerful arms grab me and pull me up.
    
    
    [Heads-Up Display Loaded]

I blink as my mask comes back to life, showing me a room  **ON FIRE.**  
It all comes back to me. I shake myself and my back  _HURTS_. My cloak is torn, my clothes ripped at. Where's my scythe? Where'd-  
  
"Here," Yang hands me a small red and black box about the size of my forearm: _Crescent Rose_. I take it, still feeling of shock of getting exploded. "You good?"  
  
"I think so," I shake my head again to clear the static in my head. "Yeah. I'm good. I think."  
Somewhere distant I hear voices, shouting. "Well, the bad guys are coming, so we need to move," Yang looks like she's been through a fire herself - her clothes are ruined almost as bad as mine are and some of her hair is still smoking.  
  
"This was supposed to be simple," I say.  
"We'll talk about it later," Yang looks me over. "You sure you're okay?"  
"Do I have a choice?" I ask. Yang just shakes her head.  
"Come on, we've got to run."  
  
I nod. The two of us break into a run, heading out of the server room that's still on fire. My muscles are very mad at me, but I shut the pain away for now. If we don't escape, we're dead anyway, so survival is paramount. The way out of the server room takes us around shattered glass windows, broken and bent doors, and several poor souls who got caught in the explosion. Typical - they wouldn't care about their own employees. I grit my teeth as waves of pain shoot through my body and follow Yang as we backtrack through the complex, heading towards the stairwell that will lead us to the roof for extraction.  
  
"This is Goldilocks," Yang says into the air. On my HUD an image of her pops up to the top-right of my vision. "Red and I have been compromised. Our information was bad."  
  
" _Copy, Goldilocks,_ " a second image of a pale girl with long black hair pops up on the top-left - Blake. " _If you can make it to the roof, Cinderella has a bullhead prepared to come get you_."  
  
"We're banged up pretty bad," Yang says as we turn a corner. "Red was on fire."  
  
"What?" I stare at Yang. I was  **WHAT**?  
"Not now," Yang shushes me. "We'll meet you on the  _WHOA_!"  
  
Yang grabs me and pulls the both of us back around a different corner as several men in riot gear pour out of the elevator, guns blazing. The wall gets lit up with bullet holes from automatics. "Shit, not good," Yang whispers. "We're gonna need to find a different way."  
  
I pull up a map of the complex. "No good," I tell her. "They're blocking the only way up."  
"Fine, then I'll make us a way up," Yang growls. I take a few steps back as Yang clenches a fist, holding it up. Staring at the ceiling, she coils her legs and shoots straight up,  **PUNCHING**  the ceiling all the way through the reinforced concrete to the floor above. Yes, Yang, very subtle.  
  
"Are you going to argue or follow?" she shouts from above. I shrug. Facing the wall opposite of me, I run for it and jump, twist around, and bounce off of the wall to the Yang-made hole above. I pull myself up as the guys in riot gear turn the corner and start shooting at the hole. A bullet glances one of my legs, but my Aura has come back to life and causes it to barely graze me. The two of us start running again, but now our path is blocked by guys wearing company uniforms, shocked and confused that we even made it up here. "Get out of our way!" Yang shoves people aside as we run.  
  
No good. We make it to the stairwell, but it's been magnetically sealed. Yang gets ready to punch the hell out of the door, but this isn't going to work - I grab her arm and stop her before she breaks it into pieces.  
  
"There's another way," I tell her. "Gotta be."  
"You have an idea?"  
  
I look next to the stairwell at the giant window facing the city. Yang sucks in a sharp breath. "Ruby..." I pull Crescent Rose off of my back and issue a command; the box morphs into a semi-automatic rifle. "Surely you can't be serious."  
  
"I am serious, and don't call me Shirley," I grin and fire into the window with three rapid shots. The window shatters, putting nothing between us and the night. "We can make it to the ground from here."  
  
"There's no way you can use your Semblance in your state," Yang warns. I shrug. Not a good time to argue, Yang. "Ruby, if you hurt yourself, Dad will kill me."  
  
"Didn't you say I was on fire earlier? No time!" I put my arms around Yang's waist. "Trust me."  
"It's not that I don't trust you, it's that I don't want to  _DIIIIIII **EEEEE**_!!!"  
  
It's too late. I channel my Semblance and the two of us vanish. Well, that's not entirely right. I cause the two of us to move so fast it looks like we vanish. The truth is I have mastery over speed, and across short distances I can twist and move so fast even cyborgs have trouble following me.  
  
...I've never jumped out of the 60th story window of a skyscraper, though, so this might be fun. I run down the side of the building, jump, twist, and hold tightly onto my sister as we both land with a flourish onto a much shorter building that surrounds the tower. My cloak billows, I have a serious look on my face, it's very dramatic.  
  
Please gasp in awe at my awesomeness.  
  
I let go of Yang and feel like my skin is electric. There's no time to bask in my glory, however, so the two of us break into a run. "Change of plans," I say as Blake's image pops up in my vision again. "We're closer to the ground now, heading north-northwest."  
  
" _Alright, Cinderella has you two on infrared. Keep running._ "  
"Copy," I nod. Yang and I leap across rooftops in silence. I really need to lie down and die a little, and from the looks of it so does Yang, but we can't stop running now. We put as much distance as we can between us and the tower. It's the only way to be safe.  
  
We hear the bullhead before we see it - just a roar of engines above us. The bullhead decloaks several meters in front of us, and both Yang and I leap into its open side hatch. A young woman with fierce eyes and long black hair holds onto us as we regain our footing, the door shutting with a clank. "You two look like shit," Cinder says with a grin.  
  
"Thanks, you too," I gasp in between breaths, putting my hands on my knees. "Try getting blown up sometime, see how you like it."  
"I'll pass," laughs the fire mage. "Em, we got them. Reengage optic camo and lets get out of here."  
  
"On it," says the pilot, tapping a few buttons and pulling back on the control yoke. I can't see it, but I know the bullhead vanishes, invisible to all but the most powerful sensors - military-grade ones, which fortunately our mark doesn't have. I think. Then again, they were always full of surprises. I walk to the back of the bullhead, staring "through" it with my mask at the towering skyscraper. The letters " **SDC** " hang on the side of it like a beacon. A very angry beacon.  
  
"Our information was bad," Yang says for like the fifth time. "Almost got us killed. I can't afford to lose any more body parts."  
"I think your cyberware is charming," I hear Cinder tease. "It makes you look so heroic."  
"Oh please," I can actually hear Yang rolling her eyes. "Look, no more jobs for White Fang."  
" _Aw_ ," Blake's voice is pouting in my head. " _It's not always this bad. Adam's information is usually good._ "  
"Yeah, good at getting us killed," Yang replies. "Get some new friends, Blake."  
" _At least the White Fang is trying to do something about Schnee_ ," Blake argues.  
"A lot of people are, but MegaCorps are hard to dismantle. Did Pyrrha's team get anything good?"  
  
Silence. "We... haven't heard back from them," I'm sorry, what? I turn around and look at Cinder. She looks like she's up to no good but that's Cinder's default face so it's hard to tell. "They didn't check in at the preplanned time, so..."  
  
"God damnit," Yang sighs, crossing her arms. "We should go after them, shouldn't we?"  
"No, you two are going back to HQ," Cinder shakes her head. "In your condition, the only thing you two are going to do is sleep and heal. We can't have two dead runners."  
  
"Please, I'll be fine!" Yang grins, trying really hard not to wince.  
"Mm, I'm sure," Cinder smiles brightly and walks behind Yang. "You look like you're in perfect health, actually! You're right!"  
She claps Yang on the back. The shriek of pain is amplified by my mask's audio enhancers, and I have to grab my ears to keep them from bleeding out. I swear, she screams like a dolphin. "I thought as much. Back to base with both of you!"  
  
Cinder is still smiling by the way. She's vindictive like that.

* * *

**RWBY: Digital Revolution  
Chapter One: A Girl Like Me**

* * *

 

So I realized that I haven't introduced myself. Since I'm currently stuck in a probably-not-sanitary bed in some back-alley "doctor's" office because Yang got us blown up, I might as well be polite.  
  
My name is, depending on who you ask, Ruby Rose or Ruby Xiao Long. Rose is my birth name, Xiao Long is my adopted name. Yang and her dad adopted me when my mom was killed. Before then, I was a normal kid with a normal life. I had friends, a crush on this SUPER hot guy like oh my God, and, according to at least one of my teachers, "a bright shining future away from all of this abject poverty enforced on us" or whatever.  
  
When Mom died and the Xiao Longs adopted me, I was in a pretty rough place. I don't like talking about it. But Yang and Dad helped me through it. They taught me how to live on the street, taught me things that no Schnee-sponsored curriculum could. Dad had plans for me, but he wanted to make sure I could survive before he enacted those plans.  
  
I'll show you. After I get out of this bed.  
  
Friendly reminder that Yang is the reason I'm laying here.  
  
" **Fuck**  you, Ruby."  
I sit up on my arms and look across the bed at my adoptive sister. "I'm pretty sure that's both gross and illegal," I say.  
"Oh, jeeze, you've gotta stop hanging out with Cinder," Yang sighs. She goes to sit up but can't because she's conveniently missing both of her arms. Long story. "You're just as bad as she is."  
  
"Coming from the girl who keeps getting into the cat-girl's pants, I'll take that as a compliment."  
The door to the dingy room opens up and said catgirl walks through. Blake - I forgot her last name, so just Blake - is a faunus, half-human and half-animal. She's really tall and got these sexy golden eyes and a really slim frame and I just sometimes get these urges to lick her but I think Yang would get like  **SUPER** jealous so I don't. "She'll keep trying but she'll keep failing," she quips, pulling up a chair and sitting between us, crossing her legs in such a way I'm pretty sure is intentionally hot especially with those thigh-highs but I'm going to ignore it for now. "So, Adam's information wasn't bad, but apparently it was intercepted by a third party."  
  
"Got any leads?" Yang asks. "I've got to punch something to death when I get my arms back."  
"Unfortunately not, but chances are it's Torchwick and his nasty little spore," Blake pulls up something on her scroll and "tosses" it; holographic screens pop up in front of our eyes, showing an orange-haired jerk and a little hetero-chromatic demon that would be really cute if she wasn't as much of a jerk as he was. "He was spotted going in and out of the SDC on some stolen security footage."  
  
"Well, you know what they say about money," Yang sighs. "Is he working for them or trying to play the Schnee family?"  
"Knowing him, probably both," I scan the data collected and "push" the image back to Blake; it sinks back into her scroll. "We're running some security checks now, but we're a long way from anything conclusive. Also, the botched job got us noticed by the family, so we're abandoning HQ and are setting up somewhere outside the city limits. It's not perfect, but it'll do until we get something more... er, solid."  
  
"Winter again?" I ask, thinking of the Schnee family's primary enforcer.  
"Nope, looks like they're sending the other one this time," Blake pulls up another file and tosses it, showing a girl that could pass as Winter a few years younger: pale skin, icy blue eyes, platinum white hair, a very serious case of RBF.  
  
She's kinda cute, actually.  
"Weiss Schnee, seventeen years old," Blake explains. "She just graduated - yes, graduated - from Atlas's Military Academy. Intercepted data packets suggest she's just as ruthless as the rest of her family."  
  
"Semblance?" Despite having a lack of arms, Yang could easily be rubbing her chin in thoguht.  
"Glyphs, just like the rest of them," Blake responds. "Her primary weapon is a NanoTech rapier called... Myrtenaster?" she blinks. "Odd name for a weapon. Dust empowered, of course. She's basically all of the annoying parts of Cinder with the fight capability of you, Ruby," she flicks over some recorded footage of her fighting some training droids, showing this girl speeding around an arena, using rapidfire thrusts and magic attacks to bring them down in mere seconds. Oof, that looks like fun. "Yeah, she's going to be a tough one."  
  
"When does she arrive?"  
"She was last seen on her graduation mission in Vacuo. She's supposed to be on the next flight back to Atlas," Blake flicks up a map showing a flight plan. "Since the record suggests she's more driven than even Winter is, we'll probably have to take her down, preferably permanently."  
  
"Ugh, I hate killing people," I whine. "I signed on this to fight against injustice, not commit murder."  
"Your impressive kill count suggests otherwise," Blake says simply. Got me there.  
"They do call you The Grim Reaper," Yang cuts in with a laugh. "Imagine what your classmates would think."  
  
"Considering that they see her as a hero, I doubt they'd believe I could do anything like what I do," I shrug. "Speaking of, tomorrow's Monday, so if I don't get back to school after that botched job, people are going to ask questions. I'm guessing our attempt has hit all the news reels by now?"  
  
"Yup," Blake flicks another screen showing some news footage. It looks really dramatic, with the smoke billowing out of the SDC tower, my sexy red cape blowing behind me as I run down the side of the building, and so on. God I'm awesome. "I was able to scramble more of the clear shots security had on you so they can't pin you on your Aura or Semblance, but speedsters are pretty uncommon up here."  
  
"Well, no one knows what exactly my Semblance is, so," I shrug again. "I just tell them I have the FANTASTIC Semblance of being super hot."  
  
"Okay, maybe you've been hanging out with me too much," Yang jokes.  
"Nah, I still have both of my arms," I tease.  
"Ouch, harsh," Yang wiggles a bit in bed. "By the way, if Mercury could hurry the hell up and fix my shit, I could go home, too."  
  
"No, you're not going anywhere," Blake replies. All of the holo images vanish as she pockets her scroll. "You got hit by most of the blast, so you've got a lot of pain going on. We can give Ruby enough painkillers to function in public, but you're out of commission for a day or three."  
  
"Oh, great," I roll my eyes. "Everyone at school already thinks I'm on drugs so this is fine. And by fine I mean not fine."  
"It's either that or live with excessive pain until you heal. Also I have it on good authority that these aren't addictive like the opioids we gave you last time. I had to use them when Yang got me half-stuck in that garbage truck."  
  
"IT WAS AN  **ACCIDENT**!"  
"You didn't even call to see if I was okay."  
"We had to go into deep cover to get the SDC off our trail!"  
"And just think, if you had shown up I probably would have let you sleep with me."  
"YOU- wait,  _what_?"  
Blake snorts. "I'm kidding. Mostly. Maybe."  
"I hate you."  
"Mm, hate sex. Tasty."  
  
They do this all the time. I think they'd already be sleeping together if Blake's boyfriend Adam wasn't the super possessive type. "Anyway, Ruby, you've been cleared, so you're free to go. The pain will subside in a day or two, so take these," she hands be a small plastic bag with six pills in it. "Three times a day, however you want. Don't take them all at once or you'll get a migraine. Trust me on that one."  
  
"Right," I swing my legs off the bed and stand up, feeling only slightly dizzy.  
  
"Don't trip," Yang teases.  
"Oh, hush," I stick my tongue out at Yang. "You can't make fun of me while you're...  _disarmed_."  
  
Blake tries and fails to keep from giggling. Yang just rolls her eyes. Ha, got em. "Go away, you're ruining my flirtatious advances."  
  
"Yeah, yeah," Blake produces my civilian clothes from some space on her person and hands them over. I walk behind a curtain to get dressed.  
  
"Oh, and Ruby, your Dad wanted to see you before you left. He's in the next room over."  
I toss the hospital gown over the curtain and get the white shirt - ugh, I have no underwear. Classic Blake forgetting things like propriety. "I'm gonna get in trouble, can I just go home? You know how Dad gets when we use Semblance in public."  
  
"I don't think it's that," Blake types something on her scroll as I put my jeans on. "Well, knowing the Boss, probably, but I think he wants you to do something."  
  
"'kay."  
I step from behind the curtain and grab the shoes that spontaneously appeared on my bed. "How do you just hide things like this?"  
  
"Trade secret. Very sneaky. Very ninja."  
"You're a decker, not a ninja."  
"Why not both?"

* * *

 

Not far from the definitely-not-a-street-surgeon's office is what we, until tonight, had affectionately been referring to as HQ; Not quite "next door" as Blake put it, but close enough that I felt safe the whole way. On the outside it looks like one of the many abandoned buildings out here in the Barrens, but once you get inside and go through at least one door that's watched by a few hidden cameras, you enter an elevator that goes down a bit of a ways to what used to be the maintenance tunnels for this area. Down here is HQ - cramped, tiny, cold, a home away from home.  
  
There's a bunch of packing going on when the doors open. A lot of our guys working with White Fang faunus are boxing up everything that can be moved and destroying everything that can't. Blake's cherished computer system -  _Gambol Shroud_ , she calls it - is being broken down to its component parts, watched over by a guy with a perpetually angry look on his face. That's Adam. He's always angry. He never has anything nice to say and I wonder what Blake sees in him. The only thing I can think of is that the sword he carries must be an accurate representation of how manly he is if you catch my drift.  
  
Anyway.  
  
Dad is easy enough to find. He's taller than just about everyone here, and he always looks serious when he's in work mode. He has a scroll in one hand and he's pointing with the other. "Get those weapons boxed up!" he's shouting. " _Crescent Rose_  gets placed in the NanoTech cases along with the other specials! All standard weapons get put in the portable lockers! Decker equipment needs to be taken off of the grid!"  
  
I walk up next to Dad and watch him yell for a bit, waiting for a chance. He doesn't even notice me at first, only coming around when I do the adorable daughter act and glomp him. " _Dad_ ~"  
  
"Ruby," he tenses a bit, but puts the scroll away and pats my head. "You're safe."  
"Of course I am!" he puts me down. I look up at him with a smile. "A little explosion isn't enough to put me down!  _Yang_ , on the other hand," I sigh dramatically. "Anyway, you wanted to see me?"  
  
"Yes," Dad nods. "We're going under for a while, so you'll have to make do on your own for a week or so. Once Yang is back on her feet I'll send her after you, and Blake is going to be hanging around in the Barrens doing some information gathering. She'll be your primary contact to us. You also have a mission of sorts."  
  
I nod, listening.  
"Pyrrha's team still hasn't reported back," he says, a look of worry on his face. "She never forgets to check in, so I need you to keep both eyes open. Some members of the White Fang are going to scout around the city to see what they can find, but I wouldn't get my hopes up. If you hear anything, report to Blake immediately. As always, she's your team leader."  
  
"Yes, Dad."  
"Also, I'm taking  _Crescent Rose_  with me to make sure you don't do anything reckless."  
  
Of course he is. "I understand. Are... are you guys going to be safe?"  
"We will," he pats my head reassuringly. "I know you hate being left on your own, Ruby."  
"I have Blake," I reply. "So I got that going for me. She doesn't let me cuddle, though."  
Dad laughs. "I'm pretty sure that Adam would get very upset."  
"I can just pull the innocent girl act, right?"  
"You fool no one down here, Ruby."  
"Aw."  
  
I give Dad another hug and leave him to work. He's got a lot riding on this gang he's created, so as much as I want to just hang out with him, I can't. It sucks, but I understand. Mostly. No, I don't wanna talk about it.  
  
I walk past some people packing to find Mercury standing over a work table. He's got his goggles on and his arms are covered in what looks like motor oil but probably "way more complicated than that" as he'd put it. I walk up to his table and watch as he quickly takes apart Yang's arms to discard the broken pieces. The explosion really did a number on them, and her punching the ceiling did more. They look pretty banged up.  
  
"Hey Rubes," Mercury doesn't bother looking up from his work. He's kind of a jerk but when he's not working he can be pretty nice. "Tell your sister next time she wants to be exploded to not let her arms get wrecked in the process. Some of these parts are expensive, you know?"  
  
"Only cause you insist on the best," I say with a smile. Mercury is a hardcore perfectionist when it comes to cyberware, probably cause he's wired himself - he made the legs he's standing on. "You know Yang - you could probably make one of her fists a club and she'd get all excited."  
  
Mercury doesn't laugh at that, but he does smile. He pulls out what looks like a tiny cylinder and chucks it in a trashcan. "I'm not going to be able to finish  _Ember Celica_  here, but I can at least get them good and started. Yang's gonna have to do with the backups," I cringe a bit - "the backups" are the super robotic looking arms that Mercury fashioned to be as ugly as possible as punishment for when Yang breaks her real cyberware. She absolutely hates them, but that's kinda the point. I think Merc just gets a kick out of making her wear them. "Also," he looks at me and pokes me in the chest. "Put a bra on, those are distracting."  
  
I blush. Thank you for reminding me that you have zero social skills. "I'm not paid to be friendly, I'm paid to do work, Rubes."  
Tch, whatever. Since I'm distracting, I'll just leave. Mercury doesn't even wave as I walk away. I consider heading down one of the tunnels to the hole where Cinder hides her bullhead, but decide against it. She's probably already about to head out, anyway, which means it's probably a good time for me to go home as well. I give Dad another goodbye hug and walk out of the hidden base. It'll be sad to see it go; this one was really good, being underground and all. But when a Schnee has your scent, it's best to just skip town until she loses it.  
  
This new one could be a challenge. Winter is already a pain in the ass, but this Weiss chick is supposed to be even worse. I think about how I'm probably going to have to kill her to keep my family and friends safe. It kinda sucks - she's barely older than I am and our paths in life are going to cross one day, and it's going to end poorly for her. Like Yang said, I'm the Grim Reaper. Just ask Winter what I did to her brother.  
  
Ah, I don't like thinking about it.  
  
Blake is waiting on me when I exit the base, nose buried in another scroll. "You said your goodbyes for now," she says, and I nod. "Alright, let's get you home."  
  
"You're not staying with me?"  
"No, I have a place set up - one of Adam's contacts is going to be keeping me," Aw. "Don't pout, Ruby, it would look inappropriate anyway."  
  
"You think everything looks inappropriate," the two of us walk out onto the street and pretend like we're not terrorists. "I'm not a child anymore, Blake, no one is going to think you're a pedo because we hang out."  
  
"Maybe not," one of her ears twitch as we pass by an SDC droid on patrol. "But why take that chance?"  
"This is the Barrens, there are way worse things going on around here," I'm not lying. You haven't been angry until you bust a child trafficking ring. Those faces can haunt you if you let them. That's what it did to Pyrrha, why she sometimes doesn't get sleep. "Besides, it's not like you're gonna pull anything, Blake. Unless..." I bat my eyes at her. "I mean, if you want to..."  
  
"Nice try," she says calmly. Damnit, take my bait! I'm hormonal! "Which is another reason why I'm not staying with you: You're too much like your sister. I'm not going to jump you, but you might jump me."  
  
"Hey! I'd at least take you to dinner first!"  
Blake rolls her eyes. "That's enough," she says more sternly. Phooey. "...hit me up when you're older."  
_Bwuh_. The way she looks at you with those eyes, I'm telling you. I have to look away or I'm going to start matching  _Crescent Rose_. Blake laughs at me.

* * *

 

So, I live alone.  
I mean, I'm adopted, but with Yang and Dad out doing things like punching SDC goons in the face and the general danger that comes from a family of criminals living together, he got me set up in a small studio apartment in the seediest part of the Barrens. I know, it sounds like neglect, right? It's really not. It's actually safer for people like me to live out here. I'm more than capable of handling myself from a few lowlifes, but I can't take on a platoon of SDC cyborgs in public. They might not know who I am, but there's always that chance they'll find out, and surveillance by the All Seeing Schnee is pretty weak out here.  
  
My apartment is pretty sparsely decorated. I've got some neat little gizmos here and there, but I keep it light. Most of the money I earn goes to supporting the gang, so what I earn from side jobs is all I really have. Since I'm not much of a decker - er, a hacker, basically, just way cooler - most of the gigs I get are either muscle work or con jobs because by all appearances I look like an innocent pure teenage girl. It really helps.  
  
My bedroom is also my living room is also the kitchen. The walls are a pale off-white with the only decorations being pictures of me and Mom. I'd like to have pictures of Yang and Dad, but I already get enough heat for sharing their last name, so I keep my relationship "distant". The windows have reinforced iron bars across them, so if I ever need to escape I'm not getting out that way. Other than that, the apartment is pretty bland.  
  
I know, it looks like the perfect opportunity to start angsting about being poor and my lot in life, right? But... not really. I'm not the brooding type. I'm more of an action-oriented person. I like to get my hands dirty. Nothing has ever been gained from being an angst-ridden mess. Well, there's some good fiction out there, but I'm not going to win any awards. "The happy go lucky hero who saves the day" fell out of fashion years ago. Anyway, I don't have a couch, so I sit on my bed and turn on the TV, set it to the SDC-sponsored news channel, and begin to change into my nightwear.  
  
"Police are still uncertain who sabotaged the SDC data center," the reporter was saying. "Security footage reveals that both agents were members of the White Fang terrorist organization, who simultaneously committed an armed robbery of a train. This train, on route to Vacuo from Vale, was loaded with support staff and supplies for the relief efforts that the rapid desertification of the nation is undergoing. Although unfortunately the terrorists escaped, they were able to destroy several of the train cars."  
  
Ah, so that's the angle. You remember Yang mentioning Pyrrha earlier? She's our Ace, our best agent. Known as Achilles, she leads a team of hand-picked agents on the more dangerous jobs that take us far outside our normal reaches. The train was loaded down with weapons and Dust for the SDC's continued extramilitary occupation of the desert nation. There is a crisis, that much is true, but what the SDC doesn't want you to know is that they're the cause of it - they've been harvesting Dust, lumber, and all of Vacuo's natural resources for about fifty years now, with reckless abandon. Several members of the gang are from Vacuo, and they all have their own bones to pick with the SDC.  
  
The reporter shuffles some papers and puts on the best fake smile I've ever seen. "The Schnee Dust Company, our proud sponsors, would like to report that the youngest daughter of the family, Weiss Schnee, will be returning home after graduating from the Atlas Military Academy. Weiss, only 17 years old, is a child prodigy, able to sing, fight, and lead in all situations. She is due to come home to Atlas in two days, and the family has set in motion a special parade in her honor. The Schnee family made a statement."  
  
The screen flickers as a rather andro.. andry... a guy who kinda doesn't look like a guy or a girl but also both stands in front of a podium with a fantastic smile that was also so evil you could almost taste it if you were into evil-flavored popsicles. "Our favored baby, Weiss, is returning home to us. On behalf of the family, we are proud of her accomplishments and are ready to welcome her back with open arms and loving hearts."  
  
Bleh. I have no idea who he's fooling. Maybe everyone who doesn't live in the Barrens. I dunno.  
Having successfully changed into my clothes, I pull back the covers to my bed and get in. It's one in the morning so I'm not getting a lot of sleep, so that sucks. The life of a terrorist doesn't really give you the opportunity for a good night's rest. I guess, sorta thankfully, since Yang is stuck with her arms being repaired for a while, I probably won't get much work, so I'll get to enjoy the normal teenage life. Woo. Hoo.

* * *

 

My morning routine is fairly basic. I get up at about five thirty, take a shower that never lasts long enough because the hot water heater doesn't work half the time, put on some super light makeup because if I do anything heavy Yang gets mad, and rummage around for some clothes. The school I go to can't afford uniforms like the ones in the wealthier areas, but that's fine with me because I've seen how stuffy those things look and it's awful. How can you fight in such a restricting jacket? Makes no sense.  
  
It's never hot in Atlas. It's always cold, and if it's not raining, it's snowing, or sleeting, or sometimes we get thundersnow because Atlas is literally the worst. Anyway, I tend to wear long sleeves and a jacket with a hood because I'm not being caught dead out in the cold if I can help it. I also tend to wear jeans because, unlike Blake, I can't just walk around in shorts with thigh-highs and be comfortable because logic isn't really her strong suit sometimes. No, I mean it.  
  
Deckers can be  **SUPER WEIRD**.  
  
So you might be asking "Ruby, why are you going to school anyway?"  
  
Two reasons.  
One, Dad wants me to, and I can't say no to Dad. He wants me to keep learning things like "life skills" or whatever and likes it when I make friends, except I don't have any friends because people are weird. Also he says school is good for me. I don't think he remembers going to school because this drek is stupid.  
  
Two, it's great cover. The SDC, as part of its anti-criminal initiative, tracks truants, among other things, so it actually hurts me in the long run if I don't go. Since I'm at school, obviously, I can't be up to no good, right? The piles of homework they saddle me with gets handled by Blake because she can do it in about ten seconds - don't tell Dad that - which allows me free time to do my side work.  
  
It's kind of dumb, but it makes sense, I guess.  
I make it to school with time to spare. It's a nasty, squat little building, surrounded by concrete fences with razor wire at the top, for "security", although I"m pretty sure it's to keep us from escaping because we totally would if it wasn't there. Since this school is at the edge of the Barrens, most of us here are poor, and what you see here reflects that. A lot of us are kind of lowlifes with no futures because even if we graduate, we lack that thing that lets you get work, which in Atlas means connections. Sure, sometimes a sports star might get picked up by a university, or someone with some fight in them gets drafted into either Atlas's Military Academy or the SDC's personal army of anti-runners, but that doesn't happen very much.  
  
It's raining outside again, so I walk in. I have literally no friends here, so I'm usually left alone to do whatever until class starts. Everyone is talking about the botched job from last night, and it does please me a bit to hear people talk about me even if they don't know it's me. Clearly the Reaper is a super hot babe with a massive chest with a dark brooding nature that's all like " _I'm full of angst and woe_ " and whatnot. You know, because she uses a scythe.  
  
If you must know, I use scythes because they're  _totally awesome_.   
  
Have I mentioned that I'm tired? Because I'm still tired. This is why I have a reputation of sorts - one of being a pillhead, because I'm always sleepy and not prone to actually paying attention. I don't actually do anything because 1. Dad and 2. It reduces your effectiveness when its most important, but I let people talk because I really don't care to correct them. It's better that they disassociate Ruby Xiao Long as far as possible from Little Red the Grim Reaper.  
  
Some dork with glasses sits next to me all excited. "Hey, didya see it?"  
"It's all over the news, of course I saw it," I reply. I have a window seat because staring at the rain is supposed to be dramatic - actually it's so I can make a quick escape if I ever get made and have to run. "They said its sabotage."  
  
"It's not," the boy who's name I can't remember drops his voice low. "They were datastealing some details about the SDC's moves in Vale. They're muscling in on Emerald territory they say," Emerald Tech is an electronics company that makes most of the devices that most countries use. The SDC stole some tech a while back and so that's what most of us use. Our masks are made with Atlas hardware but its base is still Emerald Tech. Corporate Wars are weird like that. "If that happens, we might end up going to war with Vale!"  
  
I roll my eyes. "So? What's that got to do with us?"  
"They'll start a draft," Are you actually stupid do you want to fight. "If they do, they'll start pulling people from the Barrens. We might be able to get outta this place."  
  
"Pretty sure minimum age of draft is 17," I say. "I think ninth graders are a bit too young for that."  
"They won't check!" he urges. "Half of us are SINless anyway, we can say whatever we want! I'll even volunteer!"  
  
SINless means people like us. Every child born in Atlas, and most of the world, is given a System Identification Number that you're supposed to have throughout your life. It's basically a set of numbers that allows most important things to notice you. Out here, most things don't require SIN because a lot of kids around here are born outside of real hospitals. I was born in the apartment we lived in, for example.  
  
If you don't have a SIN, you may as well not exist. However, the SINless have a special talent: since we aren't noticed, we can basically lie about whatever and people have to believe us because there's no evidence to the contrary. It limits us, though - most people poor in the Barrens will grow up, grow old, and die here, too. Out of my class of some hundred students, most of us won't live to see thirty, and fewer still to forty. Case in point, we used to have a hundred and twenty at the beginning of the year. But gang wars, idiots fighting over drugs or money or women or whatever, are a regular fact of life here. Also, SDC Droids have a policy of shooting criminals on sight regardless of the severity of the crime, so put two and two together.  
  
I let the conversation go, letting my mind wander, looking around the class. There are good kids here, stuck in a bad situation. A lot of them are worse off than I am, and that sucks. We all have our own battles, you know? The pale girl in front of me has a garbage dad who drinks a lot and beats her, the redhead over there has anger management issues because someone forced heroin into her system when she was like ten, her boyfriend next to her is an orphan who lives with some ex-military nutjob who thinks that we're one bad day away from the Grimm making a comeback, and so on.  
  
All of this started long before I was born, back when the SDC and several other corporations became the big power players, becoming bigger than and in some cases overriding governments and taking control for themselves. It's a long story, but the short version is that the corps promised a vision and everyone fell for it. Now that it's obvious that vision was a lie, the people are too poor or too lazy or too doped up to care. That's part of why I became a runner, because I do care. Because Dad cares. We might all be trying to make our way in this world, but some of us are trying to make it better for everyone.  
  
That's my dream, anyway. Can you tell I don't do well in school?

* * *

 

It's about lunchtime when Blake contacts me. She's never overt about it, and at first I didn't even notice. Across from the school and above the outer walls, a light has been blinking for a few minutes. It takes me a while to realize it's a pattern. I disconnect from the school's WiFi and search for a signal that only exists because my scroll has been modified to find it. I connect and put on my earphones.  
  
"Heatwave coming in," she says. "SDC conducting a sweep, probably looking for White Fang members, especially after last night. I'm gonna lay low - don't do anything out of the ordinary."  
  
A heatwave is when the cops, or in this case the SDC, show up to the Barrens to look for characters of questionable morality. Usually this means shooting the homeless who don't hide fast enough, performing random drug tests on faunus, and adding drones and more droids in sweep patterns. Truants are arrested and forced into "Schnee Processing Facilities" which are basically glorified brainwashing centers. On the extremely rare occasion they find an actual terrorist like a White Fang member, they parade that drek around on TV for a week or so.  
  
I would love to go out there and give them a nice taste of scythe, but Dad took  _Crescent Rose_  from me precisely so I couldn't do that.  
  
Ugh, this sucks.  
I hang up on Blake and put the scroll away. I start formulating a plan just in case they figure out who I am. It's always a long shot, but you can never be too certain. The bells ring, and I watch as all of the other students get up and make their way out to the cafeteria for lunch. For many of us, it's the one chance for a meal that's not garbage, and normally I'd be happy to follow. But not now. Not while there's danger lurking. I begin to scan the sky, waiting for the bullheads to show up.  
  
I don't have to wait long. Ten minutes after lunch begins, they're here. Since the school is at the "edge" of the Barrens, it's usually their first stop. Several men and women wearing riot gear walk out of the bullheads while others that haven't landed drop SDC droids and deploy drones. The group is led by an SDC enforcer, usually a former runner or someone trained like us to sniff us out. Fortunately, I'm too normal to notice when I'm not wearing my gear, so I'm able to slip by. I pretend to be  **completely shocked**  by this sudden turn of events.  
  
The droids let themselves in and spread throughout the school, and the drones follow. The only thing I can get in trouble for is for being SINless, but it's enough for me to get put away if a particular goon doesn't like me. The droids can detect Semblance use and Aura activation, so I can't run and hide, nor can I fight back without getting shot. I keep my headphones on and pretend like I'm surprised I'm found and told to head for the cafeteria with all the other students.  
The entire student body and some teachers are in here. They'll start by searching for anyone that might be of use to them - usually people who look particularly strong and smart. All of our grades are on file, and mine blow, so I don't have to worry about that, and I don't look like I can punch a goon out. I mean, I can't, but I've gotten into fights without  _Crescent Rose_  before. Those aren't very fun.  
  
A drone scans me, a dude in riot gear pats me down and lingers way too long on my butt, but he passes on. Gross. At least he didn't make me take my shirt off like they do to some of the bigger girls. I'm pretty sure they mostly get their rocks off by forcing people to do what they want them to do. It's a power thing. Dad explained it once, but I don't really get how having power over someone's will is enjoyable.  
  
As they clear up, a warning siren goes off. I turn to look - the redhead with the heroin addiction has been flagged for exactly that. That's unfortunate. They cuff and begin to lead her away. She's kicking and screaming but there's not really a lot that she can do.  
  
There's a clunk as she kicks one of the droids. No, don't do that.  
The droid is programmed to respond to any violence done to it with lethal force. One of its arms turns into a sword and it lifts it, ready to strike. There's an eruption of protest because no one wants to see a kid die in school, and one of the officers halts the droid with a command. The goons lift their guns and point them at us. The girl is still screaming profanities at them. They make some idle threats but they usually don't act on it, at least not with kids. Easier to brainwash the adults if you don't off their spawn, you know?  
  
Cooler heads prevail. No one dies, and the droid is called off. They still drag her away, though, because she's a drug addict and therefore a menace to society. No one is fooled, of course - if she's not brainwashed, she'll be dead in the next week, anyway. The SDC will send a letter to the grieving parents claiming that they did what they could. The boyfriend will be miserable, but maybe he'll move on. He used to have eyes for the pale girl who sits in front of me.  
  
Maybe.  
  
Everyone heads back to class, much quieter this time. Lunch is forgotten. Watching a student get dragged off kinda ruins the appetite a bit. I sit at the window again and stare out of it. I watch as she's thrown into one of the bullheads. Damn. The way her head rolled, she's probably already dead, or at least paralyzed. If she was from a rich family, it would take a simple cybernetic surgery to fix a broken neck. But she's not. Unless they have a use for her, she's going to be gone... forever.  
  
This is how the SDC rules.  
Through fear.  
  
Do you understand now? At least a little bit? Why I'm fighting? Why the name Schnee is a curse?  
My thoughts drift to that girl coming. Weiss.  
The youngest.  
She's due to show up in another day and a half.  
She'll do.  
  
Girls like me hate injustice and love vengeance.  
A part of me boils over. The SDC has taken my Mom from me. Mom wasn't a runner, she was a schoolteacher. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time and they cut her down. I remember watching it with my own eyes.  
  
Now they're taking someone's precious daughter away from them. Yeah, she had problems. Those problems weren't her fault, and they weren't worth dying over.  
  
I feel one of my hands clench into a fist as I scan the room. The boy is sullen; even the pale girl looks sad.  
  
I told you.  
I'm not the brooding type. That's not me. I'm a person of action.  
I open my scroll and begin to enact a plan of action that will end with me scythe deep in Weiss Schnee.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby goes on a trip to Old Atlas with Blake. Later on, Weiss makes her first appearance, and things take a turn for the worse.

There's a certain amount of danger you expect when going on a run, especially when all you have is a light pistol that you, er, borrowed from your best faunus friend. No one hires someone of my skill for a simple job, and I don't expect it. But running is in my blood, since the only other option is to hurry up and wait on Weiss to show up, I decide to take on a solo job. In Atlas, there's never a shortage of work for someone like me, even without my scythe.  
  
It starts when I get home from school. I send Blake my homework for her to mull over for about a minute while I toss my jacket onto my bed. There's a separate scroll that's encrypted I keep in my kitchen - the only people it'll activate for are me and Blake, which makes sense because she designed the encryption in the first place. This is the phone I use for my night life.  
  
Heh, it sounds  **dirty**  when I say it like that.  
Anyway, the first thing I do once I log into it is to see if anyone has heard or seen Pyrrha. Achilles is popular enough among those in the Barrens that any sighting of her would set off a minor celebration, and since she's also the SDC's Number One Most Wanted, if so much as a lock of her hair was spotted floating in the wind, they'd be all over that. Their sweep of the Barrens didn't uncover her, and none of my contacts have mentioned seeing her. This... doesn't bode well.  
  
I call up Blake and see if she's found out anything. "Nothing here," she replies, her voice calm. "I've been searching for her the entire time you were at school, and there's not been so much as a whisper of Pyrrha or her team."  
  
This is bad for a number of reasons. If Pyrrha still hasn't shown up, then she could be dead. That would not only be a huge blow to morale, but I like Pyrrha. She's a friendly person, and we get along great. She also taught me how to fight with more advanced tactics that Yang and Dad couldn't teach since their method of fighting is to make like those old martial artists you see in the movies and punch and kick everything to death. It's kinda awesome, but our fighting styles don't mesh well.  
  
She could have been made and just be lying low. That's also a possibility, and it's probably the best one. If she's just hiding then she and her team will show up on their own terms.  
  
The absolute worst possibility is that she's turned her back on us and is now working for the SDC. It happens more often then you think it does: famous and highly-skilled runners decide that either their cause isn't worth it, or it's just more profitable to work for Schnee, and throw their lot in with them. I've seen it happen. I don't know what hurts more - the betrayal itself or the way your former friend is perfectly willing to kill you for a few measly creds.  
  
Yang and Dad have personal experience with it, but that's not my story to tell.  
  
No, Pyrrha wouldn't do that. She's too invested.  
  
Anyway. "Ugh, I hate sitting around waiting," I complain to Blake, who only shrugs in response. "I need to go out and DO something!"  
  
"You're still injured, Ruby, even if you can't feel it."  
"I know," and I can feel it, a little bit. "Is there ANYTHING I can do? Someone need a bodyguard? A package delivered? A date? I'm so bored!"  
"You've been home like five minutes, how are you bored?"  
"I just sat in school for eight hours, Blake. Do YOU remember school?"  
Blake snorts. "Yeah. I dropped out. That was before the whole 'no truancy ever' thing."  
See, she understands. "I need to do something, get this energy out."  
"...well," Blake finally says. "There is ONE thing you can do."  
  
"I'm listening."  
"My, er, guardian said he needs to make a delivery to a White Fang element on the other side of the city, at the OTHER Barrens. You know, the one you don't like."  
  
Ugh. The 'other' Barrens is Old Atlas. Mostly abandoned when the SDC built New Atlas from the ground up, the only things out there now are the truly desperate, the truly depraved... and Grimm. Sometimes. It's completely lawless, and whoever leads the area is the one with the most money and the biggest stick.  
  
Torchwick lives out there with his little toy doll. There's a mutual hate between us.  
  
In all fairness, he's a creep. And a jerk.  
But... I can't just sit here and do nothing. If I do, I'll think about my classmate, thrown into the bullhead like so much trash.  
  
"I'll do it," I decide finally. "I'll deliver whatever it is he needs me to."  
Blake shrugs again. "I figured as much. Get changed, Red. I'll go with you."  
  
"Sure thing- wait, you can  _fight_?"  
"Of course I can! You don't think I got this figure from sitting around eating tortilla chips all day?"  
  
I blush only slightly. She DOES have a nice figure. Those tight pants and shorts she wears, showing off her butt-  
  
**Ahem**.  
  
"R-right," I nod. "See you soon."  
Somehow I feel like I made a huge mistake.

 

* * *

**RWBY: Digital Revolution  
Chapter Two: Bulletproof**

* * *

 

More than just doing the job, you've got to dress the part of a runner. Every one has their own unique style, but there are a few rules to follow. First and foremost is that you need some sort of protection. An Aura can only protect you so much, and it's only as strong as its user. Armored clothing is important for deflecting those attacks you don't want to waste your Aura on, or just an added layer for when bad things happen, like explosions.  
  
I pull out my red hooded cape from a locker I've got stashed away in the freezer (don't ask). It's lightweight, extremely fashionable, and it's made of "spidersilk" fibers. Spidersilk is as strong as steel and as flexible as cloth. It's also expensive like you wouldn't believe. This one is my backup since I left my other one with Dad so his people could fix it, along with my other clothes, so I have a backup here, too: a black long-sleeved shirt, tight black pants, and a dark red vest that kinda looks like a corset. The vest has ceramic-steel plates woven in that helps protect against things like gunshots.  
  
I reach into one of the cabinets and pull out a satchel. I tie the strap around my waist and make sure it's pulled tight. Next to the satchel is a locked box that, like my scroll, only opens for me or Blake. Inside is a white helmet that covers the top half of my head - the front part contains the distinct design of the wolf's head, the White Fang's signature mask. It's an older model since the one I use now is busted up a bit, but it'll work. I flick a switch on the inside, put it on, and brace myself.  
  
For a brief few seconds, all I see is static and bits of code that make no sense to me. Soon, however, the helmet registers my identity and comes to life. With the helmet, my vision is enhanced with a Heads-Up Display that monitors my health, gives me a map of the local area, and some other useful functions. The "ears" on the helmet give me enhanced directional hearing and also allow for wireless access to the internet.  
  
With the helmet, I can't pull up my hood. Normally it isn't a problem since at night I can keep out of the light, but in the evening hours my brown-red gradiant hair is pretty obvious. No, I don't know why my hair does that, either.  
  
I leave my aparment, pausing only to grab an old-school collapsible weapon, and hide it underneath my hood.

* * *

Blake is waiting on me when I get there. Of course, she looks amazing - her black pants are almost painted on they're so tight, a white long sleeved shirt that's only zipped halfway, letting a black undershirt peak from underneath, exposed midriff... I'm so glad I have a helmet on. She's wrapping some sort of cords around her lower arms with quiet movements from gloved hands. "So, what's the package?" I ask. Blake looks to her side at a duffel bag. "That's it? What is it?"  
  
"Some decker equipment," Blake replies, slipping on a White Fang mask. She grabs a separate cord from the bed and plugs one end into the mask, the other end vanishing into her long black hair. I hear a click as she plugs the mask directly into the jack on the back of her head. The "eyes" of the mask flicker to life, glowing an ominous red. She picks up a sheathed sword with a pistol grip and ties it on. "Expensive stuff, but the pay will be worth it."  
  
"Are you sure you're up for this?" I ask her. "I didn't know you were ever a runner, Blake."  
"It's not my main job, no," Blake admits. "Not anymore. When I was younger, before I got into decking, I was Pyrrha's partner as a stealth specialist."  
  
"So you really are a ninja," I reply, grinning. Blake just nods, one of her ears twitching. She grabs the duffel bag and I swear it vanishes onto her person somewhere. "How do you-"  
  
"Shall we?" she gestures towards the door. Yeah, let's get out of here. "Follow my lead. Code names only, Red."  
"Sure thing!" Wait, what's your code name, anyway? I follow Blake out of the apartment.  _Omygod_  is she  **blushing**?  
"It, um," she looks like of funny when her face starts turning a bit red. "It's Belle."  
  
Ah, wait! That's part of her name, right? Belle... Belladonna! Yeah!  
"No, like Belle, from Beauty and the Beast. You know, the movie?"  
  
I don't really do movies much, but sure. I remember that one. Yang has that movie somewhere and ooohhhhh. "Yang gave you the codename, didn't she?"  
  
"Yeah," Blake looks away as we walk to the roof. "She wants to be the Beast, of course."  
Ha, sounds about right. Now that I think about it, Yang is the one who comes up with the names we use on channels. Little Red, Goldilocks, Belle... Cinderella, Achilles, Thor. Huh. "That does seem to be a hobby of hers."  
  
The two of us look out towards the city of Atlas. From here, the main portion of the city looks massive, a heaping mix of steel, concrete, and glass, packed tightly together, especially compared to the comparatively small five to ten story sad looking buildings that make up the Barrens. In the center of the city, the SDC tower glows golden as the evening sun manages to poke through the clouds, nine hundred meters of pure oppression and hate. All SDC activity, from here to Vacuo to the furthest reaches of the planet, pass through that tower. The comm spire at the top that adds another hundred meters to the body sends and receives messages at enormous speed.  
  
Basically, a symbol of everything I hate.  
"Come on, Ruby," Blake says. Alright, let's go.  
  
The two of us break into a run, hopping from rooftop to rooftop with practiced ease. The droids on the ground don't even notice as we pass by. I can't help but notice how easy it is for Blake to keep up with me, arms stretched behind her as she focuses her attention in front of her, ears occasionally twitching. While we run, she uploads a marker on a map on my HUD, pointing out not the fastest, but the safest way to our destination. It takes us the long way around the city, and it'll be some hours before we get there.  
  
Unlike Yang, Blake is quiet. Yang will make comments about anything, but Blake keeps focused. It's something I've always admired about her, but it makes for poor conversation while on the job. Hold on, tall building.  
  
I jump forwards and use my momentum to redirect upwards, essentially wall running straight up to the roof and landing on my feet. Blake is a little slower, using her hands to essentially climb up the side of the brick building with relative grace. "I didn't know you could climb."  
  
"Comes from being a cat," Blake says without pause. She shows me one of her hands. "My nails are quite a bit stronger than yours are, so I can use them to dig into grooves in imperfections that you can't."  
  
Makes sense. We continue our run. How much of you is cat, anyway?  
" _Other than the obvious_?" Blake has stopped speaking, and her voice now echoes in my head.  _"Reflexes, vision, hearing, a few other little bits that put me above the average human. Yes, I do land on my feet. And yes, this isn't a belt._ "  
  
I glance over. Blake doesn't even pause as what I thought was her belt comes undone on its own. A cat tail. She has a _cat tail_. Oh my god that's so adorable I just  **CAN'T**  how can someone so hot be this cute it's unfair-  
  
_"Don't tell Yang. She'll want to pet me. Again."_  
  
There's s smirk on her lips. I just shake my head and grin. I told you, Blake is pretty awesome. Not quite as awesome as me because ultimately she's a decker and they're still weird people, but she's fun.  
  
The two of us continue our run. Blake flicks on some music for me. I wonder if she can play music only she can hear with that wired brain of hers.

* * *

 

It's after dark by the time we reach the other side of the city. The trip kept us away from the SDC patrols and drones that litter the more wealthy parts of Atlas, which makes things easy. Over here in Old Atlas, there isn't much in the way of tall buildings, so we take to the ground. I'm only a bit exhausted at this point - running that far is never the most fun, and it's been long enough for Blake that we had to take a couple of breaks, but we made it with pretty good time.  
Old Atlas is kind of a haunting place, and I pull my cloak tighter around myself as the two of us walk its streets. No cars come here. Most of the streetlamps are broken. There are more bonfires then there are artificial lights in general. The buildings are mostly dark except for the occasional lamp. People - almost all faunus, I notice - openly brandish firearms. There's a busted up SDC droid hanging from a traffic light - its such an old model I don't even recognize it. I move closer to Blake. I don't think I'm welcome here.  
  
_"Just don't take off your helmet,"_  her voices assures me in my head.  _"As long as they don't know you're a human, you should be alright,"_  well that really doesn't help. " _This is why I came with you, Ruby._ "  
  
Okay. All right. I clutch the collapsed weapon under my cloak as Blake leads me to one of the only buildings with a light on. She knocks one and waits.  
A huge, muscled faunus swings the door open. He looks at me and Blake, paying attention to our masks, and lets us in. "I know you," he says to Blake. "Adam's bitch."  
  
I can almost hear Blake rolling her eyes. I stand next to the door as she calmly sits down at a bar. There are other faunus present here, some of them side-eyeing me, others noticing Blake more. "Isn't she a human?" one of them asks.  
  
Blake doesn't turn to look as she produces the duffel bag and sets it on the bar counter. "You really think a human is capable of the things she is?" she asks. The big guy takes the duffel bag and opens it. "It's all there. The White Fang never forgets a promise."  
  
"It's rare to see a decker outside of its natural habitat," the faunus pushes aside the bag after he seems satisfied with its contents. "What's with her?" he gestures towards me. "Is The Grim Reaper feeling a bit down? Need some help?"  
  
"She's good in a fight, but not great with things like this," Blake responds smoothly. Hey now, wait-  
  
_"Don't."_  
Blake's voice rings in my head again. I shut my mouth and lean back against the wall. She never takes her eyes off of the brute in front of her as she raises her mask, letting it sit on top of her head. She leans forward and steeples her fingers. "Adam wanted me to check in on his... old friends, you understand?"  
  
"Adam," the faunus huffs. "What a waste. Throwing the Fang in with humans. What is he thinking?"  
"The survival of our species is more important to him than his... pride," Blake says with a bit of hesitation. "I don't like humans either, but I work with them."  
"Yeah, their stench is all over you," the man reaches down and pulls out a shot glass and liquor bottle. He fills the glass and slides it to Blake. She gingerly picks it up and stares at it. "Some of the guys miss you, Belladonna."  
  
"I'm not that kind of girl anymore," she downs the shot and sets the glass down on the counter. "Adam's an asshole but he takes care of me. No more sleeping around for a meal and bed."  
  
What? Blake had to  _what_?  
"You used to be able to turn a good trick," laughs the big faunus. Blake doesn't react, her intense gaze only lingering long enough to look back at me, as the faunus fills the glass again. "I would know."  
  
"That was a long time ago," she stares at the glass. "I wish I could say it was a worse time, but..."  
"Old Atlas is dying, girl," he says. "You saw it coming in. They've been cutting power to some of the buildings now. It's only a matter of time before they shut it all down. And when they do..."  
  
Blake downs another shot. She flips the glass onto its rim as she sets it down this time. "They'll come for you. Just like before. We're trying to stop them, but we're still too few. Even working with the humans."  
  
"You are making a difference," despite my mind reeling, the big man gently takes Blake's hands in his. "They would have come for us a long time ago, Belladonna. But you, and your faction of the Fang... you're doing good out there. My kids, you inspire them. They might not know your name, but they do know Gambol Shroud, the decker rumored to be a faunus."  
  
"...your kids..." Blake sighs. "It's the whole reason I'm still doing this, you know? For the future."  
"It will always be the primary reason the White Fang fights," nods the big guy. He looks... somewhere distant. "Why don't you go see her?"  
"Why should I? She barely knows me," There's an edge of bitterness in her voice.  
"She's still out here, you know," he ignores her protest. "Go say hi."  
  
"...we should go. Grimm are bad this time of year. Red," she sits up from the bar, shocking me out of my reverie. Wait, does Blake have a kid?!  
The two of us leave the bar, pausing only long enough to retrieve a crestick from the big guy. Blake looks towards the city, then leads me away from it. Where are we going?  
  
"Some old friends," she quips. I didn't even know you were from Old Atlas. "You never asked, Red," ...fair enough.  
She leads me down another few roads to a... remarkably well kept building, considering the circumstances of this area. In the distance, I hear Beowolves howling. Blake stops at the door. "You don't have to follow me in."  
  
"I want to," I reply. "If that's okay."  
"It might change how you think about me, Red," but she opens the door anyway, and I follow her in.  
It's a house of some sort. A duplex might be a better description for it. The first room is a wide area. There's a TV picking up a bootleg signal in a corner. Five or six children, the oldest one barely younger than me, are sitting around it, watching some fantasy cartoon.  
  
An older faunus with tiger stripes on his face greets us. Blake says little, and I say less, instead watching my companion as she zeroes in on one of the children. She's young, and shares a lot of Blake's features. Same colored hair, ears... only the eys are different, being a deep green instead of Blake's gold. Is that really-  
  
"No, I've never had a kid," Blake says. "She's my sister. Mom died giving birth to her because we don't have access to the tech out here to make childbirth easier. Her name's Kali, after Mom."  
  
" **Blake**!"  
The little girl jumps up and runs over, leaping up into her arms. "I missed you!" she cries happily. "Can you stay? You can watch TV with us! We jacked the signal from an old line. We get ALL the channels!"  
  
Blake opens her mouth but I cut in. "Sure!" I reply. "Blake was just telling me she'd love to stay the night with you!" The look on her face could melt steel, but I just smile back. I'm a piece of drek, I know. Can it.  
  
Kali squeals with delight and hugs Blake more tightly. Resigned to her fate, Blake finally smiles one of the only genuine smiles I've ever seen her have, holding her sister tight. The girl looks at me with bright green eyes and gives me the purest grin you could possibly imagine. I stare up at her as she smiles, but the look on her face changes, slowly. She wriggles out of Blake's hug to hop down and look up at me.  
  
"Whoa..."  
"What?"  
"Sis... are you friends with the Grim Reaper?"  
  
Oh. Of course.  
I pull off my helmet, despite Blake's earlier warnings. "And she's  _ **human**_?!"  
I kneel down. "Hi, Kali, my name's Ruby. Nice to meet you," I stick my hand out. Kali stares at me like she's seen either her superhero or a ghost, I'm not sure which. In a blur of movement, instead of either running from me or taking my hand, she glomps me.  
  
"You are my  **HERO**!"  
Blake looks down at me. "Looks like you have a fan, Ruby."  
The other faunus children have noticed us by now. In seconds, we're surrounded, bombarded by questions and childish laughter. Only the one my about age stays back, and he's... oh, I think he's admiring me. At least I think he is, the way his wolf ears are wiggling.  
  
"Just remember, you asked for this," Blake teases. I look up at her.  
"Seriously? You're leaving me to this."  
  
"I'm going to see if I can help with dinner or something. Goodbye, Ruby," she walks away to another room. Kali gives chase, leaving me with a bunch of elementary-aged faunus children.  
  
I'll get you back for this, Blake.  
_Ohhhhhhhhh **hhhhh**_ **~~~**

* * *

 

So I don't really do the whole "family dinner" thing. I don't even do the "sit down and eat" thing when I can help it. You often have to eat on the move, so I kinda forgot my table manners. I stand at the door frame with some weird bagel-esque thing, eating it silently as I watch a bunch of children pull up to a long table. The tiger faunus sits at the head, Blake at the opposite end. There's little exchange of words as the kids eat.  
  
"How do you guys have this much food, anyway?"  
Blake looks at me with a wry smile. "What do you think I spend all my money on?"  
  
Oh.  
You know, the more I learn about Blake, the more I wonder why she keeps everyone at a distance. Watching her listen to the kids, answer questions about her, uh, day job, and be generally the opposite of her normal persona, I'm almost struck dumb. She's showing me a side of herself I don't even think Yang knows, maybe not even a side Adam's seen. Instead of the intense, sexy feline, here I'm seeing a warm, friendly, almost motherly figure.  
  
This is what she's fighting for. She said it herself earlier. These kids are the future of the faunus, and she wants to give them a bright future, out from under the thumb of the SDC, and I guess humans in general. I've heard the story before, you know. Even back in the day when the Grimm were a constant threat and schools were churning out Grimm hunters like computer chips, the faunus were considered second class. They were treated barely better than slaves - hell, apparently even back then the SDC was treating them like garbage.  
  
They've been fighting for generations just to be seen as something more than animals. Even now, if you look at what makes up the SDC, less than one percent of their executive staff are faunus. Most places won't hire them, so they're always poor. Security and police always assume a nearby faunus is the culprit of any crime committed in the area, so they're always targeted first. Even the SDC droids have been proven to shoot faunus on the scene, even if they had nothing to do with the crime they're supposed to be stopping.  
  
You can't see that here. These kids don't know how terribly their kind has it. God, listen to me; "their kind".  
"Ruby, don't you want to sit with us?" Blake looks at me quizzically. I guess I am being rude, but... I kinda feel like I don't belong. "Nonsense. I brought you here, didn't I? Come, sit," she gestures towards an empty seat next to Kali. The little girl beams at me. Uh... sure, I guess. I unclasp my cloak and set it on the back of the chair, sitting down in front of a plate that is laid out before me.  
  
"Never seen a human that didn't look down on us," the tiger faunus says. David, I think his name was. Yeah, that's it.  
"Well... I've never had a reason to?" I grab one of the forks. "I grew up in the Barrens on the other side of the city. I've had faunus friends before, and my Mom taught at a mixed school before the SDC took her from me, so..." I shrug. It's behind me, now.  
  
"Sounds like a lot of stories around here."  
"Yeah..." I feel a stab of something and ignore it, opting to drop the conversation and eat slowly instead. No one pushes it, and for that I'm... pretty glad. I guess when everyone has a story that sucks, no one is going to push it. They just empathize instead. This is really good, by the way. I didn't even know Blake could cook.  
  
I look over at her as she talks with her little sister. They could have been twins. The way Blake's face lights up whenever she looks at the little girl, it's... actually it's almost sickeningly sweet. Yang and I are close but we've never been THAT close. It's not like I can talk to her about my life problems. Not that there's often time for those.  
  
...yeah, I know. You're thinking, "Ruby, where's your humor and snark?" You have to understand, I'm... er, "socially deficient" according to Yang. I get nervous around strangers. I've known Blake for half a year but I only just really became friends with her recently, and that's only because we worked together a lot in the meantime. But this, I don't know what to do with this. Everyone at this table is so happy and vibrant, even Blake, and it's... I dunno it's... so nice here...  
I steal a glance at Blake. She notices me, and smiles back. Ugh, she's still so cute I can't do this.

* * *

 

I offer to help wash dishes. David insists I don't, but I'm the guest here, so I do it anyway. Blake helps me. The two of us wash quietly as we listen to all the kids get shuffled off to bed. The boy with the wolf ears lingers for a moment, staring holes into me, before wandering off himself. "He's got a crush on you," Blake teases. I don't think I'm his type, honestly. "I'm sure it's harmless. He also sees you as a hero, so to know you're also a cute girl, well..." I look away, sputtering. Stop, you're embarrassing me!  
  
Silence falls between us. There are things I want to ask her, things that I don't think I have any right to know, but I do now. I look at her for a moment, taking in how at peace she looks. I don't want to ruin that, but the curiosity... man, it might not kill the cat, but it might make the cat kill me. Fortunately, for whatever reason, Blake assuages my thoughts.  
  
"Dad died when I was fourteen," she begins. "SDC killed him when he was protesting for faunus rights. He was a maintenance worker for the SDC's water division... he was a big guy but he could pass as human, so he could work, at least. When he died, we didn't have a lot of money. Mom did what she could, waiting tables at a bar up in one of the wealthier areas because she could pass as human if she tied her ears back. She was pregnant with Kali when Dad died, so I did what I could to help out."  
  
"So you..." I let the question hang in the air.  
"Yeah. I sold myself," she's so casual about it that it takes me off guard. "It's pretty common around here, Ruby; it's not like we had other skills to sell, so I did what I could."  
  
"I... I'm sorry,"  _Wow_ , weak. You're not very good at this, Ruby.  
"I'm not ashamed of it, and I don't feel guilty," Blake says to me. "I mean, I'm not  _proud_  of it, but I don't hold regrets. It helped me survive. After mom died, it was the only way I could make enough money to feed myself and Kali. I dropped out of school to support us... even got popular enough I started snagging clients from the wealthier areas, too."  
  
"How did you go from that to being _Gambol Shroud_?"  
"Well, one of my clients was a decker himself," she looks almost wistful. "He didn't have actual creds at the time, so he gave me a cyberdeck. As it turned out, I was really good at it, even back then. After I realized I had a talent for it, I started offering favors to him in exchange for learning everything he could teach me."  
  
"That's how you joined the White Fang."  
"Yeah," Blake pulls the stopper on the drain. "At first it was for what I could offer physically - that's how I met Adam - but after it became apparent that I knew what I was doing when it came to decking, one of the leaders sprung the money to get me jacked and some other cyberware in my head, and after that,  _Gambol Shroud_  - myself and the computer - was born."  
  
"...when did you, uh, quit, uh..."  
"I think you're more embarrassed about it than I ever was," Blake says with a light laugh. "When did I quit selling myself? After I met you."  
  
_Bwuh_. W-why then?  
"I don't know, it just felt like..." Blake loses herself for a moment, absently drying a plate. "It felt like the right thing to do. Seeing you made me realize how different my life could have been. I could have been a runner, a real one, but I chose a different path. No, that's not right. I chose the path I thought was right."  
  
"Well..." I'm so bad at this, I'm sorry. "If you hadn't done that, you may not have met me, and... I dunno, I'm pretty happy to have you around, Blake."  
"Mm," she puts the plate away and pats me on the head. "I'm glad to be around for you, Ruby. I didn't tell you all that because you're a stranger to me. I just... I wanted you to see why I do this, what I'm fighting for," she looks back. "I've got family to take care of - all of the money I make except what I think I need, I send here. Sometimes when you're out there, you forget who you are. Every runner does. I don't want that to happen to you. You've got to find what you're fighting for.  **Who**  you're fighting for."  
  
Yeah, that makes sense. I just don't like thinking about it. I love the job. I love sticking it to the SDC. Do I need more than that? But seeing the way Blake was earlier... maybe I do. "Thank you, Blake... for sharing all of this with me."  
  
I'm so stupid. What the hell do you do here? Oh, frag it.  
I walk forward and hug Blake. She makes a sound, but slowly puts her arms around me. I feel closer to her now than I have before, but... I also feel closer with her than I do with Yang and Dad. This feels more real somehow. Most of the past few years of my life have been devoted to training and practice, doing runs and jobs for Dad and various clients that all have a bone to pick against the Corps.  
  
"You're a good kid, Ruby," she whispers. "Don't lose that, okay?"  
"I... I won't," I mumble. She's so warm, what  _is_  this?  
Our moment is broken when Blake lets go. Her entire demeanor has changed. Her ears are twitching, and she has a serious look on her face. Her nose twitches.  
David comes from upstairs. He's holding a large sword of some sort. "You smell it too."  
  
Blake nods.  
"Grimm."

* * *

 

(A/N: There's supposed to be music for this part. Plug this into your YouTube URL: v=dqbzX_1kLsk .)

There are four of them. Beowolves, standing in the street surrounding some poor soul. There's pieces of him everywhere. Blake unsheaths the sword on her back. "Ruby, have you ever fought Grimm before?"  
  
"N-no," I reply. I pull the collapsed weapon from my cloak and pull the trigger. A short sword springs to life in my hands. "Have you?"  
"Yes, just follow my lead," Blake says. She begins to inch forward. I do the same, just slightly back. They haven't noticed us yet. I pull out the light pistol and flick the safety off. "Go for the body. That skull you see is too thick for our weapons. I hate to say it, but if you had  _Crescent Rose_  we'd make short work of them." Damn. Thanks, Dad. "They're scary looking, but they aren't bulletproof."  
  
Okay, I got this.  
Blake shoots forward, charging headlong into one of the Beowolves and sliding under it, thrusting upward. She catches the Grimm in the chest and pulls the blade down its length, slicing it almost in half. The creature falls and explodes into black smoke. Well, alright then. I can do this!  
  
I run forward, pistol raised and firing. The shots go deep into the back of one facing Blake. It turns to face me and lunges. Before it can reach me, I activate my Semblance and rush between its claws, stabbing upward into its meaty neck. I use its body as a pivot, jumping into the air and dragging the blade with me. I yank the blade out and jump off the creature's back. It hits the ground with a thud.  
  
Oh man, this is  **fun**.  
I look up, and my grin turns into one of horror. "Blake!" I get up to run towards her as the remaining two Beowolves jump on her, but just as they bear down, she vanishes. What? How?  _Huh_?  
  
Blake falls from above, sword held out as it morphs into a machine pistol. She unloads a torrent of bullets into a Grimm's back, then does what I can only call  _jumping out of herself_ , turning the pistol back into a sword and decapitating the one behind her in one swift move. She then jumps out of herself AGAIN, using the backwards momentum to catch the Beowolf in its armored head. "Ruby!"  
  
Her shout snaps me out of my shock. I run forward, activate my Semblance, and dash through the creature, slashing upwards as Blake drops down. Between us, he bisect it neatly.  
  
The remaining two bodies vanish into black smoke.  
Surprisingly, there's no blood on the sword. Weird. I collapse the blade and run up to Blake. "That was... was  **that**  your Semblance?!"  
  
"Yeah," she nods. "I have the ability to leave shadow clones of myself behind. They're semi-solid, and I can... sort of teleport using them."  
  
"That's.... THAT'S  _ **AWESOME**_!"  
Blake is so cool, everyone. You don't even know. She blushes a bit. "Th-thanks?"  
  
We start heading back to the duplex thingy as Blake explains to me just what the Grimm are, since they're mostly way before my time. She pauses only as we both hear the roar of an airship far overhead. We both look up at it. "Late arrival," she says quietly. I narrow my eyes.  
  
"She's on that airship," I say.  
"Who? The Schnee girl?"  
"Yeah," I nod. "Say, Blake... you think you can get  _Crescent Rose_  back for me?"  
"Hmm. Probably. I can put in a request to your dad. What do you have planned?" I just grin. You know what I have in mind. "...alright. Well, if you don't have your weapon, then you'll just find some other way to do what you have in mind. I'll let him know. Besides, you've already killed one Schnee, so..." she breaks her eyes from the airship.  
  
Yeah. One Schnee down, three to go.  
  
The two of us walk back in together. Now I'm giddy for an entirely different reason.

* * *

 

So I'm going to spare you the details of mine and Blake's late night tryst where we slept together.  
  
No, I'm kidding. We did sleep in the same bed because Atlas at night is COLD and yeah.  
  
I mean I'm not saying she held me in my sleep but she's really warm and I'm going to just let that go now.  
  
Anyway.  
  
Blake is waiting for me at the front door. "You're missing school today," she says.  
"I think it's understandable, given the circumstances," I shrug. "I'll write myself a parents' excuse for tomorrow."  
  
Blake makes a sound and tosses a very familiar box at me. "Dropped off before dawn," she says. I catch the box easily and grin.  _Crescent Rose_  has been returned to me probably much earlier than intended, but that's fine. "Taiyang wasn't happy about it, but he'd rather you be armed if you're going to 'do something stupid'," she makes the fingerquotes in the air. "I did some digging; they're going to hold a parade in one of the upper districts to herald the return of the lost Schnee," an ear twitches towards the SDC tower. "The itinerary says that she's going to be alone for about fifteen minutes in the lobby. Well, it doesn't SAY that, but she's bound to be there for a while there, since that's where the parade begins."  
  
"Security?"  
  
"About what you expect," Blake replies. "There's a view to do the lobby from the southwest of the tower. It's a long shot, but..."  
  
But I hold the record for longest killshot. Over two kilometers from a bullhead, right into Whitley Schnee's smug face. Not only can I do it, but I was made for this kind of work. Blake hands me a case containing the White Fang helmet I had yesterday. "There's a change of clothes I, er, got you. Change into them and you'll look like your standard high-class teenager."  
  
I nod and walk back upstairs, shutting the door behind me. Rich kid clothes are always so... weird. Not at all functional. This year's fashion trend for girls seems to be a jacket plus a hoodie plus long sleeves, all of which extend to my knees. The pants flare out at the bottom, and the shoes have raised heels. Blake forgot to take the price tag off of them, so I get to marvel at how stupid these costs are. For the jacket alone I could have fed half of the Barrens I swear.  
  
Whatever. Clothes are dumb.  
"This is ridiculous," I say, heading back downstairs. Blake has tied her ears together with a bow. "You're not changing?"  
  
"I couldn't steal that much at once," she replies. I tie a strap to  _Crescent Rose_  and toss it on my back and hold the case with the helmet by its long handle. "Let's go."

* * *

 

Sneaking into the upper districts is easy enough when you know what you're doing. Even with all the drones and droids, there are simply too many entrances to a trained eye. The security is still tight enough that we have to take the long way around to where I plan on getting to, as anything that scans us for long enough will realize that for one, Blake is a faunus and therefore a menace to society, and two, we're both SINless as well. That's bad for most obvious reasons.  
It's almost noon by the time we reach the office building. Blake breaks the lock with an electronic tool, and the two of us sneak inside. The ninth floor is a placeholder and mostly abandoned except for pipes and maintenance access, so that's our location. Blake locks the door behind us as she puts on her mask and wirelessly connects to my helmet while I put it on. I draw  _Crescent Rose_  and press a button on it; the box expands and narrows, quickly transforming into a sniper rifle configuration. I set it down facing the SDC tower, over one kilometer away from here.  
  
By now the parade is in full swing on the opposite side of the tower, so the streets below are mostly abandoned. I lay down next to  _Crescent Rose_  and pull it close, staring down the scope. "You see her?"  
  
"Not yet- wait a second," I whisper. There she is, coming out of the elevator. She's not alone, but her escort is sparse. I blink once, twice, then zoom in on her.  
She's wearing a white skirt and blouse with a flared collar of some sort. That's... odd. I see a rapier hanging from her hip as well.  
She turns to look at someone and smiles at them. She's... she's cute. Damnit. That's a tragedy. I readjust my aim as my helmet is updated with things like wind speed, bullet drop, and the like. I load a cartridge into the chamber and push the bolt shut. "This almost feels too easy," I say absently.  
  
" _Indeed, but she's ultimately not as important as Winter_ ," Blake replies, her voice in my head. " _She's actually got more security than normal, so they're expecting her to be attacked. There's a screening element of drones about five hundred meters from the tower in a holding pattern. They don't expect you to be able to make a shot from this distance._ "  
  
"You'd think from before, they'd learn," I say. "The Impossible Shot" made the news reels for a good few weeks. "Damnit, these people need to move, I can't get a clear shot on her."  
  
I adjust my aim again as she sits at a couch, flanked by several men with one sitting across from her, obscuring all but her arms from this angle. I zoom in; maybe I can use the bullet drop to shoot over his head? The shot might have lost enough velocity by now. I could use a Dust round and kill the both of them, but I only have two, and I'm saving those for Winter and Jacques. Ah, well. Normal rounds will have to do.  
  
God, why is she being so  **difficult**! Just stand up or something! If you were anyone else, you'd already be de-  
  
Weiss tilts her head to the side, past her security, and looking up-  
  
"Blake... does Weiss have enhanced vision?"  
_"I don't believe so, why?"_  
"Because I think she's looking at me."  
She's smiling. The Schnee girl is  **SMILING**  at me. I swear she is! It's ruining my concentration! What the hell is this?!  
  
The girl puts both her hands up to cover her mouth so only I can see. "What in the hell..." I hear Blake say out loud.  
  
Weiss mouths some words. ' _Are you going to shoot me or not_?'  
  
"We... we should go."  
"You don't say," Blake has already disconnected. "Is this a trap or is she just that good?"  
  
"I don't know," I stare at Weiss as she stares at me. By now her security has turned to look in the direction she is, but they obviously can't see me.  
  
' _Not even going to try_?' she mouths the words.  _'I am almost disappointed. Oh, well. If you run, I will catch you.'_  
  
Oh, forget this. I pull the trigger.  
A bullet travelling eleven hundred meters a second erupts from the end of  _Crescent Rose_ , shatters the window, and screams down towards the SDC tower. I watch the window shatter, and Weiss flies back over the couch in a tumble. "Did you get her?"  
  
"I don't know, she fell back, I can't-"  
Weiss stands up, twirling something between the fingers in her left hand. It's at this moment I realize with startling clarity that she  _ **CAUGHT THE BULLET**_. "We should run very fast."  
  
There's a crackle of electricity in my ears. " _Aw, leaving so soon_?"  
Her voice is irritating. I don't reply. " _But we were just getting to know each other, Grim Reaper! Yeah, I've heard about you. Who hasn't? The best assassin the White Fang has? The one who murdered my brother? I've done my research, and I knew you wouldn't be able to resist the opportunity._ "  
  
I fold up  _Crescent Rose_  as Blake unlocks the door. We run downstairs.  _"If it makes you feel better, I'm not going to give chase, not yet. If you hadn't shot me, I would have, though, because you'd be a coward. I just wanted to see if the stories were everything they were cracked to be. Now that I have, well... I'm looking forward to meeting you VERY soon!"_  
  
Ugh. Is she this annoying all the time? Blake kicks open the door and the two of us run between the alleyways.  _"I set all of this up for you, Grim Reaper. I had my schedule for the day buried so your decker friends would find it. I prepared a special glyph that would let me catch your shot. I even posed for you. All I want to know is why it took you so long to shoot at me? Did you know? Or..."_  she snickers.  _"Did you find me as impossibly attractive as others have before?"_  
  
Do you hear that? I look at Blake as she slows down, ears twitching. It's a sharp sound, like glass shards on ice. Blake shrugs, and we continue running.  
" _It's okay if you did_ ," she continues.  _"I'm not mad. Flattered, actually,"_  her voice distorts, like I'm hearing it in two places.  _"It's rare for a faunus to be attracted to a human isn't it?"_  
  
Wait. I look to my right and Weiss is RIGHT  **THERE**. I go to draw  _Crescent Rose_  and-  
Weiss grabs me by the wrists and pushes me backwards into a wall. Blake stops and turns around, drawing her sword. "Let go of-" she's interrupted by Weiss's intense stare.  
  
"I'm not going to kill you. You're both much more valuable to me alive," she says. She turns back to me, her smile turning more vicious. "I need runners, you see, runners for a job I have planned."  
  
I still refuse to speak to this crazy person. "What is it you want?" Blake asks for us.  
"Not now. Not here," Weiss replies. She leans in close to me, staring at my mask. "Hmm. I'll contact you when I have a use for you."  
  
I really have no idea what to do here but drek she's close. Blake, kill her! Why are you standing there?! Kill her!  
I feel something poke me in the stomach. I glance down and see that Weiss's rapier is FLOATING and poking me none too gently. Oh, that's why.  
  
"..." why is she staring at me so much?  
"You don't talk, do you?" she asks me. "Sad. I'd like to get to know my employees," then she leans closer and- wait, is she going to kiss me?! What the hell is wrong with you?! I'm trying to kill you! Are you  **INSANE**?! "Hmm. You're a girl, aren't you? Why does this embarrass you?"  
  
I bare my teeth, doing my best faunus impression. "Let go of me,  _human_ ," I growl.  
  
"Ah, there we go," Weiss smiles again. "Yes, exactly what I need from you."  
Weiss lets go of me. A path of blue, circling glyphs appears before us, and she grabs the rapier. "I'll contact you when I need you," she says with finality. Before I can draw  _Crescent Rose_ , she takes one step... and she's gone.  
  
I lean against the wall more willingly, catching my breath. "What... what just happened?"  
  
"I have no idea," Blake replies.  
She and I stare at each other. I can't see her eyes, but I know she shares the same look I've got right now.  
  
We've both just made a huge mistake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So originally, Kali was named Ilia, and she was Blake's daughter.
> 
> I dropped that plot thread for a number of reasons.
> 
> First and foremost, abandoning a child, especially her own, just doesn't seem like something Blake would do. Quite contrary in fact, I think she would drop everything she could.
> 
> Secondly, Blake's backstory in this AU is already probably going to be too much for people to handle since people maintain that everyone not named Yang is at least, ugh, I can't believe I'm saying this... but "unsullied". If I added her having a child into the mix, I think people would run the hell away from it.
> 
> Thirdly, I don't want Blake to regret the choices she made when she was younger before she fell in with the White Fang and later with Taiyang's gang. Having a child would change that dramatically. It might give her further drive to do what's right, but ultimately I think it would be worse for her character in the long run.
> 
> I want the Blake in my head to be able to look back at her past and go "Yes, I did that. I'm not proud of it, but I'm not ashamed."
> 
> Having a little sister as motivation to fight against the SDC to me is more than enough for her. Sure, there's the larger picture as well, but it's the small stories, the little relationships people have with others, that truly motivates the characters here, more than a cause or a sense of justice or whatever.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby and team investigate the circumstances behind Pyrrha's disappearance.

Lesson Number Two about running: You're going to get into a fight. Unless you're the paragon of stealth, of course, but even then, you're going to fight. People don't often hire runners for simple courier missions, and if they do, it's because the delivery is extremely dangerous.  
  
Because of that, you really need to have your weapons. Last time I talked about armor: This time you need something to defend yourself with. The best defense is always shooting the other guy before he can shoot you. Or punching him. Stabbing works too, I like stabbing. At any rate, you have to put aside your morals. That's the worst part about being a runner, to me. It's hard to have a sense of justice when you've just finished slicing an entire room to pieces.  
  
Incidentally, that's where I am now. Leaning against the back wall of a room, taking deep breaths, making sure the bodies don't randomly get up. You never know when some chrome-job has a zombie program installed by whoever switched out all the fleshy bits for mechanical ones. The SDC is really bad about it, but other Corps are guilty of it too. Some people even do it to themselves as a sort of "taking you down with me" kind of thing. I wipe the blood off of  _Crescent Rose_  and sheathe it on my back for now, gingerly stepping past the corpses as I leave the room.  
  
 _"Good job,"_  a voice in my head says.  _"But your mark wasn't in there."_  
"I'm well aware," an image of a portly man in a business suit pops up on the right side of my vision. "He's not been in any of these rooms. I think he bolted before I could get the drop on him."  
  
 _"You delayed too long."_  
"I'm sorry, there were fifteen guys between me and him, and have you ever been shot in the back?"  
 _"No, can't say that I have. Hold on,"_  a minimap appears with a blinking dot.  _"Found him. His SIN just lit up running down Fifth."_  
  
I roll my eyes and break into a run, kicking open the door to the basement. This office had been used by smugglers to bring things in and out of the city illegally. Normally they were my kind of people, right? Except in this case these people were smuggling other people. Girls, mostly, plucked from the Barrens or some of the middle-class districts. Unfortunately, they'd been moved out already by the time I got there, but I knew that already. This was more about revenge and killing the person who headed the operation.  
  
The fact he was also an executive for the SDC was just a nice bonus.  
  
I catch up to him, by the way, riding away in one of those fancy new Dust-powered limos. He's pulling into traffic and trying to look nondescript, but when I lay my eyes on the vehicle, it's outlined in a bright red glow as if signalling "SCUMBAG HERE". I jump onto a taxi, then again onto a sedan, and finally on top of the limo. I draw  _Crescent Rose_  off of my back, letting the NanoTech weapon unfold into Scythe Mode. Hefting the blade easily, I twirl it in both hands and bring it down on the limo, pulling the trigger at the critical moment.  _Crescent Rose_  fires a blank, designed solely to increase my swing speed, and it crashes through the limo, slicing the vehicle in half.  
  
There is he, cowering into the plush seating. I'm pretty sure he peed himself. Whatever. I twirl  _Crescent Rose_  again, tossing a bullet into the air and catching it in the open chamber. I finish cycling the bolt and smash the blade at an angle into the half of the limo I'm standing on. I aim the barrel down at him with practiced ease and pull the trigger again.  
  
His brains make a pretty pattern against the back windshield.  
  
I cycle the bolt, loading a blank into the chamber, and run. I bounce between cars and leap back onto the sidewalk, weapon extended behind me. People get out of the way since all they see is a lunatic with a scythe running at them, and when I reach the next traffic light, I leap into the air, activate my Semblance, and pull the trigger. The combination of Semblance and force propells me to the rooftop on the opposite side of the street. I spin _Crescent Rose_  around me once more, making it shrink back down into its Storage Form, and slip it on my back.  
  
"The job is done," I say.  
 _"Excellent. You'll find the payment at these coordinates. I altered the droid and drone patrol patterns to give you a clear shot to the Barrens."_  
  
"You can do that?"  
 _"I can do a lot of things."_  
"...Hmph. Is this all you wanted from me?"  
A bit of light laughter, but not a friendly one.  _"No, this is just the first of many times I'll call on you to handle problem elements."_  
"Just because I'm killing SDC goons doesn't make us friends. I just want to note that, for the record," I jump and pop my Semblance, streaking through the night with ease. Below me, humanity continues on, undisturbed by my most recent actions this far away from the scene of the crime.  
  
 _"Oh, I'm well aware. This is a business partnership."_  
"I'm going to continue my own independent work as well. I'm not going to be one of your lackeys."  
 _"I know,"_  she leans back in her chair, strumming her fingers together.  _"I expect that from the White Fang. But as long as I live, I'll continue to hire you for work."_  
"Even though I plan on killing you one day," I reach one of the invisible breakpoints between districts and jump down to a back alley. There's a trashcan that glows on my HUD. I open it and grab the credstick in a plastic bag sitting on top.  
  
 _"Yeah, well, that's what makes it **FUN**."_  
"You are a sick, twisted individual."  
  
Her grin is simultaneously kind of cute and moderately terrifying.  _"I am, it's true,"_  she leans forward.  _"But as long as I have a use for you, I'm willing to dance close to the fire to get what I want. When the day comes, and you attack me, I expect to win."_  
  
"You have a lot of confidence."  
 _"Of course I do. I'm as close to perfect as you can get."_  
"You are a lot of things, Weiss Schnee, but close to perfect isn't one of them."  
 _"As are you,_ " Weiss laughs the most unfriendly laugh you've ever heard. "... ** _Ruby Rose_**."

* * *

**Digital Revolution  
** **Chapter Three: Palette**

* * *

The bullhead rumbles as it flies over what seems like endless mountains. It's not a very fast airship, but it's much faster than the hulks people use for commercial transport. I stare at nothing,  _Crescent Rose_  sitting on my lap, as next to me Yang repeatedly tries to flirt with Blake, to no avail.  
  
It's been over a week since Pyrrha and her team vanished from Remnant. Dad, finally having had enough, has sent us out to try and find her. The White Fang has already cleared the wreckage that her team made of that train, saying that none of their bodies were found, but there was some blood that led out towards the mountains we're now flying over. Cinder's pilot, Emerald, effortlessly pilots the ship lower, towards the snow-topped peaks.  
  
We had to start our operation at night, as this area has the occasional flight passing over it to Vacuo. The optic camo equipped to the bullhead drains a lot of Dust if it's used for too long, so we have to go in more highly visible than what any of us would like to. It's unfortunate, but we need to find Pyrrha. If we lose her, we lose our Ace, and that's just... well, it's absolutely unacceptable.  
  
The ground team, once we find a suitable place to land, will be myself, Yang, and Cinder. Blake and Emerald will stay behind with the bullhead. Adam has a team already in the area, but there's a lot of ground to cover. If we could just **GET ON WITH IT** , that would be  _great_. I can probably jump out of this bullhead and start searching NOW, but nooooo, Cinder might break a nail or something.  
  
Ugh.  
Left to my own devices, I begin thinking about a person I hate.  
  
Weiss Schnee.  
So many questions about her that I can't even answer. First off, why is she an absolute nutjob? I'm serious about that, by the way. After that first meeting, she contacted me a few days later. How, you ask? I don't even know that myself! I came home from school and she was in MY APARTMENT, sitting on  _MY BED_ , eating  **MY POTATO CHIPS** , watching  _ **MY TELEVISION**_. She claims it was easy to figure out who I was just by "reading into the patterns" and that "I'm so smart only I could do it" but I don't believe her. I searched all of my clothes, my weapons, my apartment for bugs or any sort of tracker, and nothing.  
  
I couldn't even do anything about it because she was holding  _Crescent Rose_  on her lap and petting it like it were a dog.  
For whatever reason, she didn't rat me out to the SDC. No, she hired me for a job. I refused on the principle that I wasn't going to work for a Schnee thanks for asking, then she threw an... absolutely ridiculous amount of money at me. Forty thousand creds for one assassination, almost thrice my asking rate for a job. I'm ashamed to say, I couldn't say no to that. It's a lot of money to turn around and use to continue operations against the SDC, and she was perfectly okay with that. I told her I would have to kill her, and she was fine with that too because she thinks she can beat me in a fight.  
  
What's her endgame? The obvious one is that she's planning on letting me take out her family so she can inherit the company... but she's made no suggestions as to such. She obviously wants me to root out undesirables in the SDC, which I'm more than happy to do because so far the one job involved a complete scum of the Earth, but to what end? Her family has never cared about the company's image before because they have no reason to: they hold a monopoly on Dust production, so who's going to argue with them?  
  
It's so weird.  _SHE'S_  weird. I told Dad and Yang about it, and you know what they said? "Get close to her, if you can befriend a Schnee she might reveal secrets" like  **WHAT**?! The Schnee represent everything we're fighting  _AGAINST_ , why would I want to buddy up with one?! Fortunately, Blake agrees with me and thinks I should kill her if I ever get the chance; even if she wasn't a Schnee, she's clearly nuts. I left behind my apartment and have been crashing with her ever since my unwelcome visitor. Ugh, I don't know what to do.  
  
Maybe if I can get her alone, I'll show her. I'll show up that Ice Princess. Yeah.  
This is too much for me to think about and it puts me in a crabby mood anyway.  
  
We touch down at some location that Cinder has decided is good. I put  _Crescent Rose_  on my back and follow Yang and her out of the bullhead. Now that I have my mask back as opposed to that helmet, I can put my hood up as the cold wind bites at me. I instinctively stand between Yang and Cinder, since they're both really hot in the magical sense. Yang's Semblance radiates heat, and Cinder is a fire mage, so it works out.  
  
"This valley should be a good place to start," Cinder says adjusting her own mask. She holds open one of her hands and produces a flame. Ah, warmth. "If they took the most direct route, they'd have to pass through here. The trail by now is cold, so we'll need to rely on our own senses to find them. Blake, when's the most recent satellite imagery of the area?"  
  
 _"Three days ago,"_  Blake responds smoothly. _"There were tire tracks through here, looks like from a motorbike. Hold on, I'll bring it up,"_  my vision is interrupted by a map of the area, the tire tracks outlined for me to see. They seem to be heading in the general direction of Atlas.  _"Guys, be careful out there. They may have run into Grimm."_  
  
It's a possibility, of course, but I now have experience with the creatures. I'm not scared. Yang is a bit more nervous I see, since all her life she's only fought humans and faunus, but Cinder looks... well, like I said before, she always looks like she's up to something. She's smiling. Of course she is. Cinder is odd, but most mages are. At least the Grimm seem mindless enough that geeking the mage first doesn't seem like a tactic they would adhere to.  
  
"Spread out, single file," she commands. "We'll do a sweep. The White Fang has been out here before, but we'll see if there's something they missed."  
  
Right. Wait, no, that means my source of heat is going to be gone!  
  
Aw, drek.

* * *

 

"Over here! I got something!"  
  
Cinder and I speed over to Yang as she stares at a tree. On the bark are three parallel lines cut into it: the White Fang's signature. The length of the marks indicates what the symbol in particular means.  
  
" _Meet here_ ," Blake tells us over comms.  _"I can't tell how exactly how fresh those marks are, but they're older than the last search party._ "  
  
"Did the White Fang just not notice it before?" Cinder asks.  
  
 _"No, that would be impossible. The White Fang are all trained to recognize the marks from fifty paces, so there's no way they didn't see this."_  
  
"So either they're newer than you think, or..." Cinder makes the face she does when she doesn't like something. "They ignored it."  
 _"It's possible, but I wouldn't see the purpose behind it,_ " Blake puts on her mask and jacks into it.  _"Keep searching, there's a satellite passing by that I can use to bounce some queries back to Atlas."_  
  
Right. The three of us split up again, searching in a spiral pattern away from the tree. I draw Crescent Rose and set it to it's Semi Automatic Mode, holding it tightly as I use my mask's low-light vision and sensors to see if I can pick anything up. I don't really see anything out of the ordinary, though; it all looks like a valley in a mountain range to me. Maybe if I had any sort of tracking skills that weren't exclusive to an urban environment, this would be easier.  
  
I glance over at the other two: they're just as out of place as I am. Yang hates it out here, and Cinder just looks uncomfortable. I don't think any of us have been out in the wilderness like this before. You have to understand, we're not outdoors people. I mean, yeah, we're OUTDOORS in the sense that we work out in open areas, but there's a difference between the city outdoors and... this.  
  
Does that make sense? I'm not making sense. No, it's fine. Focus, Ruby. Focus.  
...it's so cold. It's cold in Atlas but it's REALLY cold out here how is this even a thing?  
"Guys!" Yang again. The two of us run over to her as she stares at a mountain. "I think I found a cave!"  
"Nonsense, it would be really obvious if there was a cave just laying open," Cinder replies. She points at a pile of rocks. "You think  **THAT**  is a cave?"  
  
"Sure!" Yang nods, crossing her arms triumphantly. I don't see the logic. "Isn't that what happens in TV shows and stuff? The bad guys seal away the good guys by causing a cave in at the front?"  
  
...are you serious? "Yeah! That's what I'd do!"  
"The tracks go beyond this point!" Cinder growls.  
"Come on, just humor me!" Yang shouts back. Cinder looks at me, perplexed, and I just shrug. You're the team leader here.  
  
"I can't believe I'm doing this," Cinder holds her hands open, palms up, in front of her. Her clothes begin to glow along Dust-woven lines, turning a bright orange. In her palms spring two bright flames, burning with power. Cinder thrusts both hands forward. Two balls of flame shoot out and slam into the rocks, shattering them into pebbles in a massive explosion. I cover my face with my hood as shards of rock fly past us.  
  
See, having a mage is handy like that. Cinder blows her nails, satisfied with the explosion. "Well, I do have to say, it's been a while since I was able to cut loose like that."  
  
"I don't believe it, there really IS a cave behind the rocks!"  
I roll my eyes. Yang is odd. The three of us walk forward, stepping into the dark cave. It's narrow, so we fall into a single file line behind Cinder as she projects light from her palms like a flashlight. "Is anyone in here?" she shouts into the dark. There's no reply, but we press forward anyway. It's warmer in the cave than it is outside, but not by much. It's more the wind doesn't make it in here as much.  
  
There's a clank as Cinder's shoe meets something. The three of us stop as she shines her light down. Oh... my God.  
There are White Fang bodies. At least a dozen of them. They've all been thrown into this hole. Cinder kneels down, inspecting one. "Blake, can you give me cause of death?"  
  
" _Headshot_ ," Blake replies, a twinge of anger in her voice. " _Perfect center. No gunpowder residue, so it wasn't point blank. It COULD have been Dust, but these bodies have been here a while. Whoever killed them didn't want them found._ "  
  
"Pyrrha?" I ask the obvious question.  
 _"I can't tell that from here, but if she's on the run, then it could be her. I just don't get why."_  
  
"Can you recognize any of them?" Yang asks as she scans the room. She nods towards the back. Cinder holds up a light, and we see bullet holes and slash marks against the cave walls. So maybe they died in here, not dumped.  
  
 _"No, not at all,_ " Blake replies. " _Look at their masks, it's not a wolf's head. I've never seen that design before,_ " I peer down at one of the bodies. Instead of the muzzled wolf mask, it's a much smoother, flatter mask. No backlit red eyes, instead four tiny slits for vision. Mouths and noses are uncovered. I reach forward and peel the mask off of the body.  
  
"Blake... this guy is  _human_."  
 _"Are you sure?"_  
"Yeah," I nod. "If he IS a faunus, he's a very human-passing one. Yang, what do you think?"  
  
Out of the corner of my eye, Yang kicks over some bodies and unmasks them. "No... they're all human. Every single one," she kneels down and picks up one of the masks, spinning it slowly, searching. She finds a cord nestled in the mask and pulls it out. She plugs it into her own mask. "Blake, can you grab any data off of this?"  
  
" _Child's play_ ," Blake says with a smirk. There's a brief silence as she downloads all of the data off of the mask. Once she's done, Yang tosses it aside. " _Let's see... this mask was used a few times. I'll save this data for now to go through, but here. The last recording of it."_  
  
There's a burst of static in my vision, and suddenly I AM the dead guy on the ground, hiding behind a pillar, rifle in hand, watching down the valley. The mask has no sound, but I can clearly see as Pyrrha's team drives by. The redhead is leading, of course, rifle raised in front of her. Behind her, one of her teammates returns fire with an assault rifle, answering shots from BEHIND them. Pyrrha easily uses one hand to shoot her weapon, dropping the people that she by all rights couldn't see at all. A bullet catches the guy in the head, and he drops.  
  
The image flashes forward a few minutes. Another masked man is standing above him. I watch as in the mask's peripheral vision, he's being dragged into the cave. Blake stops the recording there.  
  
"So... not only did they come by, they didn't even slow down," Yang says. "Who were they running from? More of these guys?"  
"Looks like it," Cinder replies. "What's the purpose of pretending to be White Fang? To catch Pyrrha and her team unaware?"  
  
 _"I'm not sure, but I've got some more questions to ask when we get back to base,_ " Blake says. " _The valley continues ahead of you into a forest, which is where we lose the tracks. Now that we've absolutely confirmed it is her, we should move ahead._ "  
  
"I agree. Yang and I will continue on foot," Cinder turns about. "Ruby, go back to the Bullhead. Help Emerald perform a sensor sweep of the area while Blake continues to provide support for both groups."  
  
Okay. Got it. The three of us rush out of the cave, our steps more hurried. We've now caught Pyrrha's scent, and no way we're going to lose it.  
  
Once I'm far enough away from them, my mask crackles with static. What the-  _oh not now you idiot_!  
" _Fascinating_ ," Weiss breaths into my ear it feels like; her image pops up on my HUD. " _All of this to find one lonesome runner team,_ " by now I've given up trying to figure out how she knows our frequencies. I just roll my eyes now.  
  
" _You wouldn't know anything about it, would you?_ " Blake asks her over the channel. Wait, don't use my head as a relay tower!  
" _Nope, this one isn't us,_ " Weiss shrugs.  _"Or maybe it is. It's more entertaining watching your little group figure it out._ "  
"It's not them," I decide. "The SDC sees faunus as second-rate, they wouldn't... 'lower' themselves to acting like them."  
" _Ah, Ruby is right_ ," Weiss giggles. " _My family would never put men in White Fang outfits. They're much too dirty!_ " she giggles again at Blake's unamused reaction. " _Aw, don't be so mad, Blake. I personally think faunus are... delicious._ "  
  
". _..you know, I never knew what being fetishized really meant until now,_ " Blake sighs.  
" _That's funny, considering your past,_ " Weiss smirks.  
 _"How did you-"  
  
"Read the patterns, Blake, it's all there. Once I realized that several SDC lower level executives had been sharing around some faunus lately, I looked at some of our security footage, and guess what I found in the backlogs!_" she flashes her teeth. " _All I can say, Ruby, is that even at fifteen Blake had a very well developed figure._ "  
  
 _"You are actually disgusting,"_  Blake growls.  
" _No, I'm just a genius_ ," Weiss sighs, fluttering her eyelashes.  _"Once I saw the footage, I recalled your long black hair and those beautiful golden eyes of yours._ "  
" _You never even saw my face, that's not possible,_ " Blake shoots back. This is fun and all, but I'd like my head back please.  
  
 _"Mm, you're right. Let's just call it a lucky guess."  
"I really hate you,_" Blake mutters. " _Besides, don't you have anything else to do other than annoy us?"  
"No, not really."_  
"Ugh," I palm my face. "This is stupid. Weiss, you're actually stupid."  
" _Aw_ ," Weiss pouts. " _That hurts a little, Ruby._ "  
"Headshots hurt more. You should come out here and let me show you."  
  
 _"Ah, damn, I just don't have time in my busy schedule of sitting around the house, eating real food, and training,_ " Weiss shrugs. _"I'll just have to pass on that one. Now, if you just want to jump on the end of my sword later, feel free."_  
  
"So is there A  **REASON**  you're chatting us up?"  
" _No, I'm just bored,_ " Weiss looks at her fingernails. " _I decided to see what my **FAVORITE**  runners are up to, and apparently you're off being weird in the woods. Don't sleep on the ground, it's unsanitary."_  
  
"Thanks for you concern," I say dryly as I make it back to the Bullhead. "Blake, can you shut her up?"  
  
 _"I've been trying for a minute now, but she's bouncing her signal off of every tower on the planet."_  
  
"How?"  
" _Classified_ ," Weiss teases, wiggling a bit. " _I told you, I have ways. Being a Schnee allows me access to everything I could ever want._ "  
Something in me breaks. The absolute hate I have for this woman is at its boiling point. " **AT LEAST BE USEFUL IF YOU'RE GOING TO TIE UP MY HEAD!** "  
  
Weiss widens her eyes and gasps, putting both hands to her mouth. At first I think for one brief second I may have actually hurt her feelings, but then she laughs. " _Oh, wow, I didn't know you had it in you to speak to me like that_ ," she wiggling again, except by now I realize she's dancing in her seat to some music I can't hear. What is your problem? " _But, if you really want me to help, I probably can. We have some runners on the payroll..."_  she types at something. " _Hm... what about the runners Branwen_?"  
  
" _NO, NO, and **NO**_!" Yang's portrait pops up. " _No way in HELL!"_  
  
Uh.  
" _Hm_?" Weiss blinks. " _Oh! You must be-_ "  
" _SHUT UP, SCHNEE!_ " Yang shouts.  
  
I feel like I missed something. By the way, there are now  **THREE**  people in my head and this is more than a bit annoying.  
Weiss laughs again, and it's once again a mix of kinda cute and absolutely terrifying. " _She doesn't know, does she_?"  
 _"I swear to God, I'm going to kill you when I meet you in person."_  
" _You'll have to get in line behind your... dearest sister,_ " Weiss goes back to wiggling or dancing or whatever. Her cheeks flush a bit and oh what the  **hell**  are you getting off on this?! " _Maybe a little_." Oh God ew. " _I'm just saying, they'd be the most likely to wanna help, especially considering-_ "  
  
" _You will NOT finish that sentence_ ," Yang interrupts again.  
 _"Considering that-"  
"Ruby, take your mask off."  
"That Raven Branwen is-"  
"STOP IT!"  
"Your dearest sister's mom!"_  
  
Weiss cackles. Yang makes a sound and I hear a sound that's definitely a mask being yanked off and hurled into a tree. I... what?  **WHAT**?!  
" _What, you think she just spawned out of the void_?" Weiss tilts her head more than a little bit. " _Aw, Ruby, don't you know how babies are made?_ " If I could reach through my mask to kill you I- " _Anyway, I talked to all of the SDC's runners after I got here. There are two in particular that would interest you, Ruby._ "  
  
"...like?" I'm now morbidly curious, of course.  
 _"You see, the SDC employs two people that are of interest to your... little operation. Their names are Raven and Qrow Branwen. Perhaps you've heard of them?"_  
I know about Qrow. Dad told me about him, called him his evil brother. I think he was exaggerating a bit, though, because according to Yang it's less "evil" and more "absolute mercenary", and the SDC's offer was just better than anything Dad could offer. I've never met him, even at family gatherings, so I have no idea what he's really like.  
  
"A little," I reply. "Qrow, yes, Raven, no."  
" _Well_..." Weiss delays for an absurd amount of time. " _As it turns out, Raven Branwen is your sister Yang's real Mom! **Fascinating** , isn't it_?"  
  
"I... I didn't know."  
 _"No, I guess you wouldn't. According to her, she had a really bad fallout with her ex husband,"_  Weiss looks almost thoughtful. " _There was much fighting and screaming and gnashing of teeth. I can only surmise she didn't like the idea of drafting children into Taiyang Xiao Long's frankly hopeless war against us_."  
  
Ugh, she's doing that thing again where she's already figured out goddamn  **EVERYTHING**. At this point, she needs to die because she's entirely too smart for her own good. "And again, you don't tell anyone," I decide to turn this conversation mostly away from us. "You've figured us out, and yet I don't see the SDC knocking down my door."  
  
" _Well... I still have uses for you_ ," Weiss says, and she actually looks like she's being honest.  _"I'm not one to throw away a potential asset, even if they hate me. I found out a long time ago that money smooths over any wounds, you see. So if I just pay you enough, I can probably keep from killing you for a while,_ " That is the most backwards thing I've ever heard. Weiss laughs at me. " _I mean, if you want me to I can tell, but... nah._ "  
  
"I'm so comforted that our worst enemy knows who we are," Blake's voice is so dry she needs water I swear. "And that she's going to hold her tongue for now."  
  
" _What can I say_?" Weiss shrugs dramatically. " _To be a good leader you have to know when to tell people secrets and when to keep them. You think I have a lot? You should ask Winter, now SHE'S got some secrets, let me tell you_ -"  
  
"Weiss!" I shout.  
She blinks, confused. " _What_?"  
"I'm trying to help find my friend, I don't have time to listen to your insane ramblings."  
Weiss rolls her eyes. " _Fine, fine, just leave me here all lonely and sad._ "  
"You're like the richest person on the planet, I'm sure you'll find something to entertain yourself with."  
 _"But I did find myself something to entertain me. You guys."_  
  
I almost yank off my own mask just to get away from her. How can someone be so insufferable?! She  **KNOWS**  I hate her and yet she's trying to be... I don't even know.  
  
I look at Blake. She rolls her shoulders and tries a different approach. "Weiss, if you want to... talk... then can it wait until tomorrow? We'll be doing this for a while and Ruby has school in the morning."  
  
"... _Damn_ ," Weiss actually deflates. " _Fine_."  
There's a crackling of static, and her image vanishes. I stare at Blake. "C-can you explain any of that to me?"  
"I just came to the realization that Weiss is basically a spoiled child and is used to getting her way about everything," Blake says. "All she's ever had to do is throw money at a problem until it goes away. It's not that she doesn't understand us, she just doesn't care."  
  
"Well, I can't have her interrupting me when I'm working," I snap. "If she gets ahold of us when we're in the middle of a delicate run, it could ruin everything!"  
  
"I'm aware," Blake nods. "I'm going to make a new encryption for our comms. Frankly, I'm getting sick of her."  
  
I shut the hatch to the bullhead. You said it, sister.

* * *

 

"Coming up on Area 3. Ruby, you see anything?"  
  
I stare at the screen in front of me as the bullhead's sensor system cycles through various modes. This is one of Cinder's many modifications to the aircraft, as the stock version only has radar, which is fine if you don't need infrared, laser targeting, topographical readings, and even a seldom-used weird sonar thing that detects vibrations through a probe. That one is expensive, so we don't use it much.  
  
"...nothing," I sigh. "Not even Grimm. At least Area 2 had something for me to shoot at," I tap a screen next to me, rubbing my eyes. "Yang, you find anything in Area 4?"  
  
 _"We've got some bullet holes and a tree that was knocked down, but no tire tracks and no shell casings. Whoever chased her team into the forest tried covering their tracks."_  
  
Ugh. I go from my eyes to my temples. The clock reads one in the morning. "We're not getting anywhere," I grumble.  
"I might have something, but it's a small something," Blake speaks up from the back of the bullhead. "I got ahold of Vel... an old friend of mine, and she says that Adam never gave the order to search the mountains for Pyrrha."  
  
"That's more than a small something," I look over my shoulder at Blake, who shrugs.  
"Adam has a habit of only giving orders to certain people without the rest of his men knowing," she reminds me. "She might not have been there when he gave them."  
  
"Still, if Adam didn't give the order to search for Pyrrha, then that means..." I close my eyes. Okay, if the White Fang DIDN'T search the train wreckage, then some of Pyrrha's team might have died there. The people following after her in the video footage might not have been members of that team, either. The fake White Fang back there might have something to do with it. Damnit. By now the SDC will have cleaned up the mess from the train attack, so that's a no go. Think, Ruby, think! "Okay. We need to retrace Pyrrha's steps, find out where she MIGHT be going."  
  
Pyrrha has lived in Atlas all of her life, and by that I mean the continent, not just the city. Unlike the rest of us, she spent a lot of her childhood in the wilderness going on adventures with her family. She knows where she can hide and moreover knows how to survive out here if she thinks she's in danger. "I agree," Cinder says. "Pick us up, Em. We'll pull back for now. Yang and I will come back out here first thing in the morning and start backtracking."  
  
"But-"  
"No buts, Ruby. It's dark and its getting colder, and I need to talk with Adam. We'll drop you off outside the city limits."  
Ugh. FINE. But if this delay gets Pyrrha killed then I'm blaming you, Cinder!

* * *

 

For the first time in a week, I return to my apartment. After checking to make sure a certain someone hadn't invaded my personal space again, I lock the door and strip my armored clothes off. I'm so damn tired and it's three in the morning. I'm going to be a zombie at school again. I climb into bed.  
  
I'm worried. Obviously.  
What do I do about any of this? Pyrrha's missing, Yang and Dad kept a secret from me, there's some humans masquerading as White Fang out there... and Weiss. Fucking Weiss. Of all my problems, she's the biggest one. I'm just waiting for the day that she's had enough of me and throws the entirety of the SDC on me and my family, my crew, and we're all killed. Sure, I'd take some out, but if that happens, our little rebellion, and any others that threatened to spring up, would be toast. I can handle Pyrrha being missing - I can even handle her being dead. It would hurt - hurt a lot - but I could move on. I did the same when Mom died.  
  
I can handle Yang and Dad keeping secrets from me. It's not the first time. Hell, ignoring that whole thing with Yang's mom, I don't even know where the temporary HQ is, the same one that both of them will be sleeping at tonight. They always keep me in the dark about those until they think I'm ready. They keep me in the dark a lot of the time. I think they think because I'm still young I'd accidentally rat us out. That's never happened before and I see no reason for it to begin now. It's not my fault Weiss figured it out by putting together distant threads that just so happened to make sense.  
  
Ugh. I can't handle this. I don't wanna go to school. Stupid truancy laws for existing. Stupid Dad for not letting me in on what's going on half the time. Stupid Weiss for being annoying... or maybe I'm the stupid one for caring. No, Mom always said that doing the right thing often involved putting your own feelings aside and doing what was right. I might not like it, but I have to keep moving forward and keep fighting. It's what I'm made for. Being a runner is my calling. I chose this life.  
  
My scroll vibrates. I pick it up and stare at it. Blake? I turn it on. "What?"  
  
 _"Can I come in?"_  
"Uh... sure?"  
There's a buzz at my door as it unlocks. Blake walks in, looking as tired as I do. She shuts the door and locks it, half-stumbles to my bed and sits at the end of it. How did you get in, anyway? "Oh. I made a copy of your keycard." You could've told me that, I was about to get up and let you in. "Sorry."  
  
Deciding not to be rude, I sit up in bed. Blake is worn out - her hair is a mess, rings are starting to form under her eyes, and- "Blake, do you have a black eye?"  
She snorts. "Yeah, but I busted his nose so we're even."  
  
"Huh?"  
"Don't worry about it," she smiles at me. "I just needed to get away for a while. I knew you wouldn't mind," No, but... ugh, I'm so tired. I can't stop from yawning. "Same," she says.  
  
"Well, uh," I look at my bed; it's big enough for two because I, according to Yang, make even big beds look tiny with how I flop around, but it's NOT my fault that I can't lay still in my sleep. "You wanna spend the night?"  
  
"...yeah," Blake answers. She unties her boots and takes her jacket and  _oh my_. I blush and look away. "I have underwear on, Ruby," she says smoothly. "Just don't jump me."  
  
"I wouldn't," I stare very hard at the window until I feel her get under the bedsheets. "I'm not THAT bad," Yeah, just because I'm hormonal and you're hot but sure let's tease me you... you cat! "...you wanna talk about it?"  
  
"Adam and I broke up," Blake yawns. "It was... sort of amicable?" You have a black eye though. "Yeah, that's why. We got into an argument about how to handle our next moves and we both kind of flipped out on each other. The black eye is the least of it, honestly. We beat each other up pretty good."  
  
Oh... I'm... I'm sorry. Blake rolls over. "After that, we realized we were going to become one of THOSE couples, so we broke it off, if only to protect ourselves from each other."  
  
"This hasn't happened before, has it?"  
"Oh, no," Blake looks up at me. "We've gotten pretty heated before but we've never attacked each other like that. It... honestly kind of terrified the both of us. Adam can be intense but he's not  _violent_  towards me. We both think it's the stress. When, or if, everything calms down, we'll probably get back together. But until then, we're keeping our distance," and how do you feel about that? "Honestly, it sucks. I love Adam, but the thought of either of us putting our hands on each other that way... well, it's not worth it. We both know that," she looks forlorn. "We would have been together for four years next month."  
  
"Oh... well... um..." I have  **NO IDEA**  what to say.  
"...Ruby?" Yeah, Blake? "...hold me."  
  
She doesn't have to ask twice.  
It probably looks a bit funny. I'm way shorter than she is and a lot younger, but she's burying her face in my chest and crying. Breakups are hard. Bad breakups are worse. I've seen Yang go through her fair share. I can't imagine ending a relationship because the two of you are afraid you're going to hurt each other. That's a new one. Normally these stories are because one or the other is abusive, but they made a commitment not to let it reach that point.  
  
I don't know what to do here. I turn over some words. Maybe a joke. Maybe.  
"Blake, I don't want to be your underage lesbian rebound," I quip. Blake chokes and giggles.  
"Wouldn't dream of it, Ruby," she mumbles. "You're way too pure for me anyway."  
Hmph. I'll have you know I'm not pure at all! I watch  **porn**! Blake laughs again, more readily this time. "Definitely still too pure," she says when she catches her breath.  
  
 _Ooh_ , whatever. I'm only doing this because you're my friend anyway. Blake rests against me, and before long she falls asleep and  _oh **God**_  I think she's purring.  
  
Nope, I'm done. I'm passing out now.  
  
Goodnight.

* * *

 

To my credit, I'm only an hour and a half late for school. I had to stay and make sure nothing bad would happen. Also I overslept a bit.  
  
Adam had dropped by, apologized for being an "incredible asshole", and left Blake her things. He seemed genuinely mad at himself. They had a... a moment of sorts, where they both kinda stood there really awkwardly and mostly apologized to each other, and then he left. He hadn't slept, I could tell that. He looked even worse than Blake did last night.  
  
Neither one of them made any suggestions about trying again, so I think they're holding themselves to that. Blake is still pretty torn up about it, but she's diving into her work instead of laying around the apartment moping. She's still writing new encryption so certain bored spoiled children can't intercept our calls anymore.  
  
I suppose I shouldn't pry into Blake's love life, but it's really interesting. Blake had a long term relationship. Yang only ever has short term ones. Like the longest one was when she was with Mercury, but I'm pretty sure that wasn't a relationship. I might be young but I know what "friends-with-benefits" are. That was working off some steam. Apparently, it was a lot of steam.  
  
Okay, I'm not going any further down that path.  
  
Anyway.  
  
I really started thinking about it before I zombied my way into school. Adam has been Blake's ONLY relationship. You've heard her story by now, I'm sure that most people wouldn't... er, approve... of her past. But Adam was okay with it. More than okay with it, obviously. I mean, I don't care either, but I think Blake's just a little out of my league. And age range. But mostly league.  
  
I'm also honestly just kind of impressed that she was able to form a long term relationship at all. This line of work doesn't really allow for that. At least that's what Yang and Dad told me. "Don't bother trying to do anything long term, kid. That's why your dad is a single man at forty."  
  
You know, maybe Dad and Yang are not the best people to have those kinds of talks with anyway.  
  
...I'm still so tired.  
  
Ugh. Wake  **up** , Ruby. You need energy to go after Pyrrha more today. Gotta figure out where these fake White Fang are coming from. Gotta deal with... stupid... spoiled... children...  
  
My scroll vibrates. I take it out of my pocket and stare at it. Oh, damnit. Well, Blake hasn't installed the new encryption yet, I guess I should have expected this. I hold up my hand and make the girlytime excuse to go to the bathroom. I mean it's not entirely untrue but you probably don't want to know that.  
  
Man, I just got here and already I'm getting back up. I actually hate my life right now.  
  
The scroll rings. Ugh. "What?"  
 _"What'cha doin'?"_  
I stare at the mirror and wonder if I can keep my Aura suppressed long enough to bash my head against it and die. "I'm in school. You know, school? That thing you have to do to graduate and not have a terrible life?"  
  
 _"Oh... right... Blake mentioned that..."_  She did not at all sound like she cared.  _"Sorry, I graduated high school when I was thirteen, so I forget that not everyone my age is a genius,"_  Again with the fake apologies. " _Anyway, I was wondering... if... you wanna talk shop?_ "  
  
"Does that talk involve either you dying via stab wound or gunshot?"  
 _"Oh come on, I just want to help you."_  
I'm going to regret asking this. "Why?"  
  
 _"Because you're my business partner, and if I give you some information, then you'll owe me."_  
"I'm not your business partner. I'm not your any-kind-of-partner. We worked together on ONE job.  **ONE**."  
  
 _"What if I told you I can help you find your missing teammate?"_  
...ugh. No. Don't do this Ruby. **DO NOT CUT DEALS WITH A SCHNEE.**  Dad tried that with Winter. Once.  
  
But what if she has good info?  
But what if it's BAD info?  
  
"...What..." Ruby, I can say with all confidence, you are a  _fucking idiot_. "What do you want?"  
I hear her clap her hands.  _"Excellent! Alright, so, tomorrow I'm leaving for Vale with Winter and some of our runners to do some things."_  
  
"Okay..."  
 _"Conveniently, during this week, there's going to be a formal occasion going on at The Valiant," Er, '_ The Valiant' is the SDC's personal restaurant. _"This woman is being promoted to a high level position."_  
  
"Okay, and why do I care?"  
 _"Because every high level runner, myself, and Winter are going to be out of town for a week, and she's going to be... extremely vulnerable,"_  Despite myself, I lick my lips. I know where this is going. _"I found some things while I was digging around, and apparently she's been smuggling Dust out of the company to give our competitors in Mistral. If she gets more power, she'd be able to do it more openly, therefore decreasing our company's net worth."_  
  
"So you want me to kill her because... she's damaging your company."  
 _"Well. **Yeah**."_  
  
Keep it together, Ruby, you can do this. "...consider it done."  
" _Yay_!" Did she really just- " _Alright, so, if you back out of this while I'm gone, I'm going to stab you several times with Myrtenaster's pointy end. Just saying_."  
  
"I kind of figured," Please, PLEASE give me a reason.  
" _So here's what you want to know_ ," her voice changes tone to be a BIT more formal. " _Your team never hit the train._ "  
  
"What?"  
 _"Nope, in fact, the train was never hit at all."_  
"But all the reports we got-"  
 _"Are a complete and total lie. I've seen our inventory before and after the incident. Nothing has changed, Ruby. Vacuo still got all of the shipments we planned to send it."_  
  
"So Pyrrha... never went after the train."  
 _"Not at all. She was there at the train, but she didn't attack it. I have the security footage proving that."_  
  
I don't like where this is going. "Is she on..."  
 _"No, she's not in our records. We didn't hire her. Winter keeps meticulous records. All she has of your friend is that she **WANTS**  to hire her, but she hasn't."_  
  
"Then what's the goal here?"  
 _"I have no idea, I haven't managed to put anything together yet, the info is too limited. What's also obvious is that the train was loaded down with both droids and security, and they didn't shoot at her. I'll send you the data to see for yourself."_  
  
I strum my fingers against the sink. "This is interesting, but it's not helping me find her."  
 _"She boarded the train, Ruby. That's what I'm getting at. Your teammate isn't coming back because she ran away."_  
"That shipment was headed to Vacuo..." I say to no one. "So... she ran all the way there?"  
 _"It's a good a guess as any, isn't it?"_  
"So the data we got from those fake White Fang helmets was... probably faked..."  
" _I told you it had nothing to do with us_ ," I hear Weiss messing with something. " _But here's what I do know: Elements from my company helped one of your runners escape Atlas. Something is going on, Ruby_."  
  
Ah, there it is. Her glorious life is being threatened by something she doesn't have a lot of knowledge about. But... still, if Pyrrha ran away, helped by the SDC, then she's right - something  **IS**  going on.  
  
Oh, man, Dad isn't going to like this at all. He  **HATES**  conspiracies.  
  
 _"Remember what you owe me,"_  Weiss says in a singsong voice.  
  
"I will," I reply. "And Weiss..."  
" _Hm_?"  
  
"...thank you."  
I think I'm going to throw up.  
  
 _"Does this mean we can be fri-"_  
"No. Not in the slightest."  
" _Aw_."

* * *

So of course I told Blake about it. She told Yang and Dad I suppose, because after I got home from school, they were in my room.  
  
On my floor.  
Eating my potato chips.  
  
Why do I even buy food if other people eat it for me?  
  
Blake at least has the manners to not eat all of my food, and since she basically moved in with me last night, she's the only one who has a right to if she wanted. Instead she sits on my bed, three Cyberdecks around her with a fourth plugged into her brain, typing away. How's that new encryption coming along? She twitches her ears. That tells me so much, thanks.  
  
"Hey sis," Yang waves. There are potato chip crumbs all over her blazer. I just bought those after Weiss ate my last bag. "You know, when we said you should be friendly with her we didn't say invite her over," I'm going to stab you after I stab her. "I mean, Schnees aren't my thing but I bet we could get somewhere if you got into her pants,"  _OMYGOD **YANG**_. "Just a thought."  
  
Right. Death by  _Crescent Rose_  sounds better every day. Dad coughs, reminding Yang of his presence, and looks serious. "I had Blake analyze what the Schnee girl got us, and it's not fake, or rather, if it is, it's a quality that is absolutely indistinguishable from reality."  
  
"That's what I was afraid of," I say sadly. "So... Pyrrha ran away..."  
"We can't be for certain of that," Dad tells me. "She might have some plan in mind. You know Pyrrha: if she sees a more permanent solution that she thinks she can do, she'll go for it."  
  
"Yeah, but I'm still worried. She hasn't run off like this in a long time, Dad, plus she's our best runner and best fighter. She's the only one of us who's ever fought Winter Schnee and won."  
  
"Hey! I didn't do so bad!" Yang protests. I tilt my head. But...  
"You did so well, you lost your left arm," Blake's sarcasm here to save the day.  
"Yeah, well... well she lost... uh...  _damnit_ , Blake."  
A cat ear twitches. I use Yang's faltering to hop in.  
"So, what are we going to do, Dad?"  
  
"Well, we need someone to track down Pyrrha," he answers. "We also need someone to mind the fort to keep track of the SDC. Things have been quiet since the botched mission to the tower," he gives me and Yang pointed looks. "Now that the new HQ has been established, we've got some room to work with."  
  
"I want to be on the team that tracks down Pyrrha," Yang chimes in. Dad nods.  
"I figured as much. You will go with Cinder and Emerald. A three-person team should be enough. Ruby," he looks at me. "You will return the favor you owe to Miss Schnee. However, I also have something in mind."  
  
"I'm listening."  
"We know where the family lives," he says, referring to the manor not far from the SDC tower. "We also know that most of the Schnee family will be out for a good week, leaving only Jacques and his personal entourage. Ruby, this is one of those moments we've been waiting for."  
  
My eyes widen. "You want me to infiltrate the manor and see what I can find."  
"Yes. Jacques Schnee never leaves the tower, meaning that security in the manor should be light. Given our scouting reports, it should be only automated defenses," he looks over at Blake.  
  
"I'll back her up," she says with a nod.  
"You understand I'm asking you to once again do something not involving the White Fang."  
Blake continues hacking away at whatever she is on the cyberdeck. "It's not a problem. I've helped take care of Ruby for almost the entire time I've known her. We know each other well."  
  
"I appreciate that," Dad replies. "I really do."  
"It's not a problem," Blake leans down and steals the potato chips, eliciting a protest from Yang. "...Ruby and I are friends."  
  
The both of us ignore Yang's playful "oooohhhh".  
Dad looks at his scroll. "Right. Yang, you've got an appointment with Cinder if you want to make good time. I'll be heading back to HQ," he and Yang stand. "Ruby, take care of yourself."  
  
"Always do," I shrug. Dad for one brief second looks a bit... not hurt, just uncomfortable. Maybe that was the wrong thing to say. He leaves, taking Yang with him. Well... whoops?  
  
I go grab a broom and sweep up Yang's mess, the only other sounds being Blake tapping away at one of her Cyberdecks. With her enhanced mental acuity she can easily keep track of all three at once, plus the one she's plugged into, but it's still a sight to watch her rapidly shift from one deck to the other without looking up from an entirely different one. I peer over and all I see are lines of code. I don't get any of it, honestly.  
  
I sweep the crumbs into a dustpan and toss it in the trash. It's not quite nighttime yet, but Blake and I will have to get around discussing our new operation. I have three days before I can give Weiss what I owe her. I sit on the floor and flip the TV on just for the noise. Blake doesn't care, I don't think - besides, she has this ability to only hear things when she wants to. I wonder if I could ask her if I said something stupid to Dad.  
  
Eh... nah. I'll let her work. What she's doing is way more important than discussing my own adopted family's dysfunctional relationship.  
Man, I'm still so tired. I never did get enough sleep, and with all that excitement earlier, I forgot that I was drained. I should probably ask Blake to move.  
  
Nah, I'll just sit here. Moving takes effort.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby performs a job for Weiss, and her Semblance goes haywire.

Runner Lesson Number... er, whatever. Next lesson:  
Make plans. Make backup plans. Make  **contingencies**  for those plans. Expect those plans to fall apart because the universe was like "no, you can't do that." This is perfectly normal. If you let the stress of your plans falling apart get to you, then this is the wrong line of work. You have to be like spidersilk - you have to be firm when necessary, but flexible enough to adapt to any changes in the scenario. For example, when your assassination goes from sniping to getting up close and personal because the SDC has sorta figured you out a bit and they realize you like to make long distance headshots.  
  
I hit the roof with a rush of wind and run,  _Crescent Rose_  a whirlwind in my hands. A sidestep, spin, a brief flash of Semblance, and the droid goes down. The one behind me raises a hand with its fingers pointed at me - internal machine guns. Before it can fire, I use my Semblance again, wrapping around behind it and slicing upwards, bisecting it. By now the other three have noticed my existence, but I'm far too fast for even their digital brains. My cloak whips behind me as I dash to another pair, slicing sideways to drop one and in the same motion stabbing backwards, using the speartip on the bottom of the haft to rip out the fourth droid's internals. I spin again and throw the scythe, watching as its spinning double blade rips into the last droid, dropping it.  
  
Was that a rose petal?

* * *

**Digital Revolution  
Chapter Four: Decalcomanie**

* * *

"Anything?" I ask.  
" _Nothing_ ," Blake replies. " _Not yet. Knowing SDC security, though, they're probably aware that their droids have suddenly deactivated_ ," I walk up to the last droid I downed and rip  _Crescent Rose_  out of it. " _The only thing left between your target and you consists of about... twenty security personnel, as well as about fifty civilians_."  
  
"Right," I nod. I walk to the edge of the roof of the restaurant, looking down. There are two men guarding the establishment's back door. Going in through the ground is probably my fastest option, especially because they should be sending people to the roof soon. I step up onto the raised wall, raise my scythe, and fall.  
  
Thanks to my Aura, I don't even feel it as I hit the ground. Before the men can make any sound, I whirl  _Crescent Rose_  in a circle, using my whole body as a pivot for it to turn. The blades cut down both men before they have time to say a single word. The oil on the blade is mixed now with blood, which is... unfortunate. Blood is hard to clean out. I kneel next to one of the bodies and pull off a keycard, using it to unlock the door. I flick a button on the haft of the blade. Time to test out this new form.  
  
Blake is the one who suggested it, being based off of her own fighting style.  _Crescent Rose's_  haft folds in half and the blades straighten out and collapse in a bit. I grab both halves of the haft as they combine with the dull edge of the scythe blade and separate, giving me two much smaller single-edged swords with the sharp ends on the inside of the curve as well as a spike on the end of each handle. We haven't given this form a name yet since "Swords Mode" sounds kind of dumb and they're not  **REALLY**  swords, but they're perfect for close quarters.  
  
I kick the door open.  
Inside is a small back storage room. Two men with assault rifles look up from their card game, take one look at me, and move to stand. I pounce instantly, leaping forward with blades extended to my sides, up onto the table. I spin once, decapitating one with my right hand while gutting the other with my left. Blood spatters onto my wolf's mask, some onto my cloak. The one I gutted makes a choking sound, but I bring a sword down and silence him. "Four," I whisper. I slide up to the door and peer around into the restaurant's large, expansive kitchen.  
  
Inside are civilians, average people who don't need to die. Technically, neither does my target, but I can't think about that right now. To wipe the slate clean, and to get Weiss out of my life for now, I have to do this. I  _need_  to do this. Only a single member of security stands at the entrance to the main body of the restaurant, looking nonchalant... well, at least as well as one can, wearing a full face helmet, anyway. I'll have to go through him to reach my target.  
  
I charge my Semblance and dash forward, leaping across the kitchen and past the metal tables, blades held forward. They rip through the armor and carry the both of us out into the main dining room. I turn in midair, using my Semblance to change direction, and pull the blades out of my victim. Dashing to the middle of the room, I stand with one foot on a rather extravagant table, do a quick turn while slapping  _Crescent Rose_  back into Scythe Mode, and lock eyes with my target. Perfect.  
  
I dash forward again, blade held above and behind me, past shocked onlookers and shouting security at the woman at the head of the table. Just a few more steps _is that a mace_?  
  
I change momentum, blinking upwards at a ninety degree angle. My body protests the sudden change in movement, but it's necessary to keep from getting smashed by that object. I land on one of the rafters, _Crescent Rose_  hanging low, as I look down. Below me, a young man with blazing eyes glares up at me, holding an open-top spiked mace in both hands. I can feel his brackish Aura as he stares at me.  
  
An anti-runner. Weiss said not all of the SDC's anti-runners would be going with her to Vale, so I expected this. He points the mace at me and pulls the trigger. I leap out of the way of a dust-powered bolt of energy, splintering the finely carved wood of the rafter I was just sitting on. I hop once, twice, and jump back onto another rafter, swapping _Crescent Rose_  to its Sniper Mode, then jump again, dodging another shot. This guy is pretty terrible, honestly. I land on the table, twist around to get a fine angle, and pull the trigger, trusting  _Crescent Rose's_  internal computers to handle any imperfections in my aim.  
  
My shot was true. Had it been uninterrupted, it would have passed clean through my target's head. Unfortunately, my new opponent blocked it with a swing of his mace, shattering the bullet. Urgh. I take another step back and cycle the bolt, firing again, again, again. He blocks all of the shots, a smirk on his face and his blue eyes smug. From the corner of my eye I can see that security has snapped out of its daze, alternating between evacuating the restaurant and pointing their rifles at me. Damnit, if it weren't for this guy I would have been gone already.  
  
 _Crescent Rose_  clicks, the magazine empty. Damn. I swap back to Scythe Mode. The anti-runner is keeping himself between me and my target as security begins to escort her out. They can't fire yet because there are still civilians and they have to at least pretend to care, but my time is quickly running out. Can I use my Semblance to get past him? I'm starting to feel the drain on my aura, but if I don't act soon, then she might... you know what? Forget it.  
  
I hold  _Crescent Rose_  back and take a deep breath. The anti-runner points the barrel of the mace-gun at me. Just as he fires, I move with all the energy I can muster. I fly so far to the right I hit the wall, my Aura flaring briefly. Before anyone can react, I go again, flinging myself at my target with  _Crescent Rose_  ready. Everything moves so fast at this speed, but I've done this over and over again. I swing as I fly towards her.  
  
The blades connect with her body and I feel  _Crescent Rose_  tear through her. I slide towards the end of the dining room, slamming the scythe into the floor to stop myself.  
  
...more rose petals. That's... odd. I try to ignore it and gaze at my handiwork. The woman stands stock still, as if afraid to move. I yank  _Crescent Rose_  out of the ground and tap the bladed point of the haft against the ground.  
  
She explodes. I'm not even kidding, either. The force I hit her with causes her to explode violently into a mass of... blood and rose petals.  **What**. I look over at the anti-runner, and he looks just as confused as I do, as does everyone else in the room. I hold my hand out and catch one of them. It's... definitely part of a rose. It crumbles as it rests on my glove, vanishing into some wind that no one can detect.  
  
" _What **is**  that_?" Blake asks, and I shrug. It's time to go before everyone recovers. Channeling as much of my Aura into my Semblance that I dare to, I rush out of the open front door, past the shocked onlookers, and into the night, turning at a sharp angle and flying down the sidewalk. Windows pop as I scream past, shattering out of buildings and windows. At some point I manage to get  _Crescent Rose_  into its Storage Mode onto my back, but I'm running so fast all of my attention is focused on what's ahead of me. I run between people, across streets, over intersections, as far as my legs will take me.  
The feeling is exhilarating. I've never gone this fast before! Sure, I can go when I want to, but this is like... next level. I could take out anyone and no one would be able to catch me!  
  
Nothing, that is, except for the brick wall that suddenly looms into view. I gasp, deactivate my Semblance... but it's too late. I slam face first into the wall, the bricks shattering like glass at the point of impact, radiating outwards from me. There's a sinking feeling as the last of my Aura drains, and I feel sick. Slowly, I peel myself off of the wall and take a step back. "Blake, where... where am I?"  
  
I look around. Wait. "Blake, did I run all the way into the Barrens?"  
" _Sure did_ ," Blake replies. " _Ruby, do you have any idea how long and how fast you ran?_ "  
"Not... not a clue."  
 _"You just ran fifteen kilometers... in one minute."_  
I'm sorry what? That's... impossible, isn't it?  
  
I turn around. Rose petals are falling now, leaving a temporary trail from where I had begun... I think. I don't feel well.  
  
I should get going. I put a foot forward.  
  
The last thing I remember is falling flat on my face.

* * *

 

I'm not sure if it's the sound of my own breathing or the sound of a machine, but I slowly wake up, feeling like all the wind has been sucked out of me. I hear voices next, fading in like someone turning up the volume on a television, and when I open my eyes, my vision is all blurry and out of focus for a second.  
  
"W-who-" I start coughing. My abdomen tenses up in pain, and it feels like all of my muscles are on fire. I can't help but cry out.  
  
Blake appears in my vision instantly, grabbing one of my hands and saying some words. I assume they're reassuring ones, but all I can feel is the pain t _he pain the **PAIN**_. She's shouting at someone, and an entirely different person swirls into my vision. I think I must be thrashing, because the new person has to hold down my arms while Blake does my legs. My cries turn to screams as I feel nothing but fire all over me. My heart is pounding so hard it's going to burst out of my chest and I feel nothing but pain, and terror, and I want my Dad here. Dad, please, come back. I need you here. Dad!  **PLEASE**!  
  
...Mama, it hurts... please help...  _Mama_...  
 _Mama_?

* * *

 

"God damn, Summer, she looks just like you. You sure you didn't just undergo cell division?"  
"Very funny. I'm sure she'll start showing aspects of her father one day. Especially if he sticks around."  
"...Summer, I-"  
"I know. Your job doesn't really allow room for families. Just... try to drop by, when you can, okay? If not for me, then for her."  
"Okay. I can do that."  
Summer's smile is bright.  
"Her name is Ruby. I'm sure she'll love you."

* * *

 

The next time I wake up, I'm not in nearly as much pain.  
I open my eyes and I can see. My nerves are still on fire, but it's a low burn as opposed to a raging inferno. I can think, although it's muddled, and I can move. I sit up on my arms, ignoring the sting, as I look around.  
  
Blake looks spaced out, sitting in a chair next to me. A cord runs from the Cyberdeck on her lap into the jack at the back of her head, and she seems at peace. Elsewhere I see a few faunus monitoring some screens, an IV drip attached to my... bandaged arm? Looking down, I realize that I'm strapped in bandages from the waist up. I sit all the way up and look under the sheets.  
  
"...Blake, why am I wrapped up like a mummy?"  
"Huh?" Blake blinks, staring at me. "R-Ruby! You're awake!"  
"You didn't answer my question, Blake."  
  
"Ah," she takes a breath, pulling the cord out of her head. "Well, to catch you up, you screwed up and almost killed yourself," I don't follow. "That thing you did with your Semblance? While it was impressive, it was also extremely dangerous. Your body burned moving at those speeds. The drain to your Aura almost stopped your heart, and your skin is hyper-sensitive. The bandages are because any sort of touch seems to elicit a heavy pain response from you."  
  
I hold up a hand and stare at it. "It felt... amazing," I breathe.  
"I'm sure it did, but," she looks over at the other faunus. "It drained you, Ruby. It drained you REALLY badly."  
  
"How so?"  
"Well, when the people here tried to force your Aura to respond, it... didn't," What. I blink and focus, trying to activate my Aura. There's a familiar tickling sensation at the back of my head, but... other than that, I feel nothing. When you activate your Aura, or when it responds to immediate danger, you get a feeling of some sort. I think it feels like a hug, Yang says it feels like her skin is tingling, Dad says it feels like he just took a strong drink, stuff like that. But I get nothing. Somehow I can't bring myself to feel any which way about it.  
  
"That's... odd..." Wait, am I slurring? "Blake... am I on something?"  
The door opens, and a tall, blond faunus wearing a jacket walks in. "You're on morphine right now," he says. Oh... wait, no. Don't do that. "Sorry, kid, but it was either that or listen to you screaming."  
  
I lay back down. This... is bad. I don't like painkillers that affect me mentally. It's hard to... not use them. "Can you find me something else?"  
  
"They tried all the other stuff," he replies. "If the hard stuff didn't work they were going to force you into a coma, so you should be glad you're awake at all," he flashes a grin at me. "Hey, it could be worse, right? You could be dead."  
  
I don't think that's really helping. Wait.  
"I need to get up," I blink, trying to remember. "I... I have to get to the Schnee manor while they're away."  
"...Ruby... do you know what today is?" No. "Do you not... hey!" she shouts over at one of the faunus. "How much did you give her?!"  
  
"Enough to keep her sedated," comes the response.  
"She doesn't remember anything about being here!" Blake stands up, looking agitated.  
"It was the lightest dose we could give her whiel suppressing pain symptoms."  
  
...Blake? "You don't remember anything at all?" Can't say that I do... just a lot of pain. "Oh... Ruby..." Blake looks a bit downcast. "You've been in and out of it for about a week."  
  
What. But I thought I was just told I wasn't put in a coma. "You weren't, but you were in a LOT of pain, Ruby. I didn't realize they had dosed you so hard. If I had known..." she shakes her head.  
  
"Dad... Yang...?" I know what I'm TRYING to say, but I can't seem to get it out.  
"Taiyang has been here a few times, but Yang is still in Vacuo," Blake replies, understanding. "Things kind of went a bit crazy after your... er, event... so everyone is still dealing with the fallout of that."  
  
"...okay..." I nod slowly. The blond guy walks next to me and checks something on a monitor, looking intense. "...can you even read that?"  
"I have no idea what it says," he admits. "Just trying to stay out of the way," ...okay, but who are you? "Oh, my name's Sun," he looks down and flashes a toothy grin. "I'm the one who hauled your human butt here."  
  
Ah. "Thank you," I tell him. "You are a friend of Blake's?"  
"We go back a bit," Blake answers for them. "Childhood friends and so on. His family tried to adopt Kali and I after Mom died, but I didn't want to impose, and his family moved to Vale not too long ago."  
  
"Yeah, I had been back in town for a couple of weeks when all that happened," Sun says. "I'm an 'independent contractor' for the White Fang."  
  
"What he means is that he's too much of a wuss to commit to the cause," Blake says dryly. Sun scoffs.  
"I prefer my independence, thank you very much."  
Heh. I roll my eyes back towards him.  
  
He's kinda cute. Those abs though.  
Ah, classic Ruby. All beat up and your first thought is the hottest thing in the room. It's nice to know running into a wall at nearly the speed of sound isn't enough to turn your hormones off. Should take my mind off of that or I'll keep staring. I return my attention to Blake. "How's that, uh, encryption thing going?"  
  
"I think I've almost completed it," she answers. "There are still a few things I need to work on, but I'm making an encryption program designed to be nearly impossible for SDC decryption programs to crack. It won't be perfect, but once I complete it, I'll be able to make adjustments more on the fly. That reminds me," she looks serious. "Weiss is back in town. She's been trying to get ahold of you."  
  
Of course she has. "Did you tell her I was dead?"  
"Not at all," Blake replies. "In fact, I wasn't planning on telling her a thing." Wasn't? "She, uh, barged into your apartment last night while I was there. Demanded to see you. You know how it goes with her."  
  
"...just leave me here to die."  
"Once you recover, you're moving."  
"Can I move to a cemetery? It's the only way to get away from her."

* * *

 

Blake and Sun have left, as well as everyone monitoring me, leaving only computer systems and a lone security camera. The lights are off, leaving only the glow of the monitors as any sort of ambient light. There are nondescript guards hanging around outside I've been told - Dad's orders. See, he cares.  
  
Sorta. Mostly.  
  
Anyway, I keep going in and out of sleep. Everything still hurts, and I can't blame Yang for this.  
  
I can't activate my Aura. No Aura means no Semblance, which means my job is a lot harder now. I've been assured that it'll come back in time, but this kind of work doesn't really give you time. If words gets out that I'm not at top form, then... well, Dad has more enemies than the SDC. Anarchists, other gangs, the members of the White Fang who aren't at all happy with Adam throwing his group in with us, people who think runners are the cause of all the problems in the world... the list goes on.  
  
This sounds silly, but I need to eat something. Aura burns calories just like anything else you do, so if I had some food, it could probably help the healing process. All I've had is, apparently, a nutrient drip, enough to keep me alive. While that's great, it doesn't really work the same. People who manifest Aura have to eat actual food, not something out of an IV. I asked Blake if she could find me something, but she shot that idea down. I could eat when I could walk, I was told.  
  
Ugh. This sucks. But there's nothing I can do about it.  
There's a hissing sound as the morphine drip automatically shoves more of it into my system. I hate this part because it keeps me... from moving... oh, it feels so  _good_...  
  
I somehow make it onto my side.  
The door behind me opens, but I'm too fucking doped up now to care. I hear footsteps, someone's weight on the bed, and a sigh. A hand touches my arm, but I really can't react. I wonder if this is how I'm going to die. Wow, that would really suck if I died to an assassin. Ironic and poignant, yes, but not really the way I planned on going out. I'm more of a blaze of glory type of person.  
  
"Ruby," I hear a voice say: female, clipped, proper.  _Weiss_. "I just came by to check on you. I figured out where you were because I followed Blake using the company's satellites when they passed over the city, and she kept returning to this building. No one knows I'm here."  
  
Oh good, Weiss is going to kill me. "You can't die yet," she says. Okay then. "You're still a key to my plans. I'm going to get you something that'll get you back on your feet faster. I can't have my best employee sitting around waiting to heal. You won't have to pay back this one," she goes to say something else, then stops, muttering something. She... she thinks I'm asleep! Ha! "It's a compound we give to our company runners to allow them to heal after they do some jobs for us. You'll like it, it's better than that sh- that medicine these people are putting you on. Point is, I need you. There are some things I need you to do, and I can't do it on my own."  
  
I really want to roll over just to watch her lose her mind, but my muscles are deadened from the morphine and my bones feel like jello. "God, you have no idea how much it makes me mad that I need to come to you for help. I know it'll make you mad since you still want to kill me. That's fine. Once we're done here, we'll kill each other. Promise," That isn't quite the darkest thing she's ever said to me. Still pretty nuts, though. "Anyway I'm... glad? To see that you're alive. Get well soon, Ruby, I will be calling for you soon."  
  
She stands up, walking away. I test my vocal chords and make a sound. The clacking of her heels stop. "Weiss?"  
  
"Oh, you're awake."  
"Just now," I slur. "I can't move. Come over here."  
  
I need to ask her something important. Well, it's not really that important because I'll work it out on my own, but I want to see her justify it. Weiss walks into my vision. I stare at her skirt as she waits for me to speak. "Why did you make me kill her?"  
  
"Isn't that what you wanted? To kill SDC executives?" Weiss asks. "I gave you what you want. She wasn't innocent, but she wasn't a monster. She was simply useless. Does it really matter to you, as long as people in the company die?" Not all of them. I don't think she sees a difference, though. Come to think of it... maybe I don't either. "I know in your head, only the top is 'evil' or 'wrong' or whatever, Ruby. But ask yourself - with everything you know, people still willingly work for us. Doesn't that make all of us targets? Or are you dense enough to think that killing me and my family will somehow put an end to the company?" She walks away, and now I'm super confused.  
  
"Do you want to know why I'm not scared of your threats, Ruby Rose?" She continues. "It's not just because I'm better than you. It's because I understand that you're fighting a losing battle. I let you have your fun because nothing short of murdering every single SDC employee will cause my family and its legacy to die," That's not true. I don't have to kill any of you, just expose every nasty thing your company has ever done. Killing you is just a bonus. "Once you're healed, I will come to you with a job, and you will take it. You'll take it because as much as you hate me, you know you can't hide from me, and you know that all I have to do is identify you, and all that you love will perish. Hate me all you want, Ruby.  **I don't care** ," There's a pause. "Everyone else does, anyway."  
  
She leaves. I want to punch, scream, or break something. Her words were like being stabbed by her rapier, and I felt them.  
  
All of the flaws in our mission against the SDC got laid out to bare. I know it's not perfect. I know that. But to know that SHE also knows that...  
  
No. I can't let it get to me. She's saying that to throw me off. Weiss wants me loyalty for some reason, and she's playing with my head to get it. I won't let that happen.  
  
Blake really needs to hurry up with that encryption.

* * *

 

It took several days for the pain to become bearable, and another few after that to be able to walk without crying. Blake never left my side for longer than necessary, bringing along that REALLY DISTRACTING boy, Sun. I don't think he means to be distracting, but he's... yeah. It's kinda hard to focus on walking when Mr. Six Pack is watching off to the side, ready to help catch me if I fall.  
  
I may have tripped once or twice near him just because.  
Don't look at me like that. It was the morphine. Really.  
  
There were other things I needed help with because you apparently just don't walk away from running at Mach .7 without issues. The day they took my bandages off I felt like my skin was on fire with every bit that was exposed to the air of the room, and when Blake and Sun helped dress me it hurt more than just my modesty. Every bit of fiber and cloth feels like needlepoints, despite being the softest things the two could find for me.  
  
But... they were here.  
They were here and Dad wasn't. He should be helping me with this, shouldn't he? Yang had all but begged to come back and I had told her finding Pyrrha was more important than watching over me, but... at least she wanted to. She still texted me every few hours, whenever she got a moment, but that had been a few days ago. They had picked up a lead that would lead her team into the desert, so she would be out of touch.  
  
But Dad was not only nearby, he could easily drop some time for me, right? Adam was a competent enough leader, at least for a few hours. He was professional enough to push aside any lingering thoughts he had about Blake on the job, and he was basically always on the job, so it's not like it would be a huge burden, right? Well, he did call, but it was only to ask about if my Aura had returned.  
  
...look, Dad cares about me, okay? He just gets, like, REALLY INVOLVED sometimes in his work, and it causes him to lose track.  
Just because fucking WEISS texts me more than he does, doesn't mean a damn thing.  
  
Anyway.  
  
Today I go home. Blake and Sun are already here, waiting on me. I've made good progress to this point, I think. I still need help walking sometimes, but both of them are here for me. As we walk out of the, let's say "specialist's" office, together, both faunus flank me. This is my first time out of that room, and I'm not that far from my apartment. I look at Blake. Why didn't you tell me?  
  
"Because you would've tried to go home," she replies. "Obviously," No I wouldn't. "Ruby, you're twice as stubborn as Yang is. I'm sure you would have crawled if you had to," N-no, I wouldn't have. I'm not THAT bad. I swear! Wait.  
  
"Blake, did you just want the apartment to yourself?"  
"It is nice to have some peace and quiet," she sighs wistfully. "Other than the occasional visit from this idiot," she reaches over me and punches Sun in the arm. Wait, you two, in my apartment, alone... together. EW,  **BLAKE**!  
  
"Not like that," laughs the monkey faunus, ignoring Blake's rather fantastic blush. "I mean, I wouldn't be opposed-"  
" _SUN_!"  
"-but I can think of a more romantic setting than your bed."  
I wonder if there is a such thing as red-skinned cats because Blake is doing a great impression of one. She huffs and looks away from the both of us. I like Sun, he's the only one who seems to be able to get under Blake's skin. Not even mine and Yang's constant flirting seems to do this to her, but one word from Mister Abs over here and she melts into a puddle.  
  
I mean.  
They ARE nice abs.  
  
Hey, why is the ground rising in front of me?  
"Ruby!" Sun pulls me back up. Ooh, dizzy... "Are you okay?"  
"This is the most she's walked so far," Blake says to him. "Come on, Ruby, we're almost there. Sun, carry her."  
  
Sun grabs me and lifts me up in his arms, looking at me with a concerned expression. This... is embarrassing. Blake leads us down the sidewalk, eventually coming to a familiar looking apartment building. "Ugh... I hurt," I groan. I don't really hurt. I mean I DO hurt, but it's being made worse because I've been trying to wean myself off of the morphine. I told you I like to keep a clear head, and that stuff can really mess with that. Besides, once you see a classmate overdose on it... well, yeah, no. So yesterday I decided I wasn't going to use it anymore.  
  
The pain is awful. It really is. But I can fight it. I've been hurt worse.  
"She's whimpering, Blake."  
"Yes, Sun, I can hear her. Upstairs."  
  
Every jolt from Sun as he climbs the stairs runs through me, and I have to bite my lip to keep from crying out. This sucks. This SUCKS. The climb feels like it takes forever, and it sort of does since my apartment is on the top floor, but I don't have much of a choice. I don't think he's going to let me down if I ask. However, he and Blake try to make the travel mercifully as short as they can, and I hear the familiar hissing of my door coming unlocked. Sun sidesteps through into my apartment, only setting me down when he reaches my bed. "Here, Ruby," he says. "Cover up."  
  
My bed is so comfortable. It's nice. But it's so cold in here, isn't it? Atlas weather, I'm telling you. Blake, I'm cold.  
"She's running a fever," Sun's face is twisted with worry. No, I'm just cold, Sun. Besides, why do you care so much about someone you barely know?  
  
"What should we do?"  
"Not much we can do, she's going through withdrawl," Blake replies quietly. She takes one of my hands in both of hers. "She's done this before."  
  
Okay, so dark secret time.  
A few years back when training, I hurt my back really bad. Dad took me to a clinic and they used morphine on me. It's not the IDEAL medication for an at the time 12-year old Ruby, but it's all they had. I got  _super_  addicted to it, but thanks to Dad and Yang I was able to deal with it. Dad got me some medicine that helps, but it still took the better part of a couple of years to... I guess "get cured" of it. I don't even think about it anymore.  
  
So when I woke up and found out that the White Fang taking care of me had put me right back on it... well, if I could feel anything I would have flipped out. That's why I'm so adamant about not using the hardcore stuff. I think Blake's gone through something similar, so she sympathizes. "Ruby, we'll get you something to help. I promise."  
  
...fucking hell.  
"Blake, give me my scroll."  
I hear a shuffling of pockets, and Blake hands over my requested item. I flick on the screen and start going through my contacts. "What are you doing?" she asks, curious.  
  
"Making a terrible decision," I answer. I highlight Weiss's name and let it ring. Of course she picks up in about a second.  
  
" _Ruby_?" Blake's ears flatten slightly when she hears the voice, but I have to ignore it.  
"Weiss. I need help."

* * *

 

"Honestly, you should have called me earlier."  
"Can we not have this discussion now? Ruby is sick and she needs help, and she swears you can do it."  
"Of course I can! Now give me that bottle. You, monkey boy, take this vial and mix it with this one."  
"Are you going to feed her Dust?"  
  
"What are you,  _stupid_? No, the Dust is necessary to act as a catalyst for the formula. It burns up when everything combines. Miss Belladonna, take these two powders and mix them with water."  
  
This is the sound greeting me when I wake up. I feel sick, and I didn't sleep worth a damn, so I'm also tired. In the kitchen I see Weiss, Blake, and Sun. Sun is fretting over two Dust vials, Blake is filling a glass with water, and Weiss is pouring some white liquid into a separate glass.  
  
"What is this stuff, anyway?" Sun asks.  
"It's called 'Panacea'. A few years ago there was a biotech firm in Atlas that had made a solution that, while tasting terrible, had extraordinary healing properties. Using a combination of nanomachines, Dust, and distilled chemicals, it bolsters the body's natural ability to heal and and rest. Three days of Panacea will cure most afflictions, kickstart bone and muscle healing, suppresses addictions, and can even restore Aura. The problem is that it's highly expensive, and the firm shut down before they could market it," Blake hands over the glass of water, now tinted teal. Weiss pours it into the white liquid. "Our company bought all of their assets and started manufacturing it ourselves."  
  
"I've never heard of this stuff," Blake says. "Not even on the internet."  
"That's because it officially doesn't exist," Weiss replies, stirring. "Panacea is only given to high ranking executives like myself and father, and to our employed runners. Since technically Ruby is my employee," she doesn't notice Blake's ears flatten. "I would be remiss to not provide her with the same. This is from my personal belongings," she takes the mixed vial of Dust from Sun. "Okay, so there's going to be a small explosion."  
  
"What?!" Sun and Blake leap backwards as Weiss pours in the Dust.  
There's a rumble followed by a burst of steam and heat that I can feel from my bed. Weiss only backs up slightly. The pale teal liquid has turned colors to a sickly looking red color. "There, now all we need to do is force Ruby to drink this."  
  
"Force?" Sun echoes.  
"I told you, this tastes terrible."  
I sit up, catching everyone's attention. "How do I know you're not trying to poison me?"  
  
"I wouldn't have come all this way for that," Weiss scoffs. "But if it will alleviate your fears, then-" she upturns the glass and takes a drink of it. She sets the glass down and shivers in disgust. "There, are you happy now?" Actually, do that again for me. "Shut up," Weiss walks over to me and shoves the glass into my hands. "This is all I can do for you. I'm leaving you with two more doses. Use it once per day, in the morning. I'll text you."  
  
"O...kay..." Weiss turns on her heel and begins walking for the door. "Weiss."  
She stops. She's shaking a bit, hands balled into fists. "What?"  
"You didn't have to do this."  
"I know."  
  
Weiss walks out the door just as swiftly as she probably entered. I stare at the two faunus in the kitchen. They shrug, just as confused as I am.  
  
"Half the time she wants to kill you, the other half she's bringing you medicine," Blake says.  
"I'm a good employee," I tell her with a shrug. I smell the glass. Ew. "If it makes you feel better, the hate is still mutual. She hates asking me for help as much as I hate giving it to her."  
  
"So why do it then?" Sun asks. A fair question.  
"She has some sort of... plan... that she hasn't told me about," I explain. "She needs me. I think part of it is that she needs some runners under her personal control. I don't know why."  
  
"Internal coup?" Blake suggests.  
"She hasn't brought up anything of the sort, and Winter would probably smell that one coming," I take a drink of the oh dear God this is nasty holy shit Blake try this. She wrinkles her nose and shakes her head.  
  
"Just pinch your nose and swallow it in one go," Sun tells me. Okay, then.  
...I think I need to puke. "H-how did she drink this even once without dying? This is awful!"  
"She did say it tasted terrible," Blake says smoothly, walking up to me. "Since you're awake, it's time to get up."  
  
I check my scroll. "Blake, it's ten in the evening."  
"Yes, but," her mouth twists into a grin. "To help get your mind off of Weiss, you need to take a bath."  
What. I can bathe myself, thanks.  
  
"Prove it."  
Okay, fine. I set the glass down on the floor, stand up, and-  
Immediately trip into Blake's waiting arms. Goddamnit.  
  
"Bath time for you, Ruby."  
"I'll go start the water," Sun walks into the bathroom. Wait, no, I can do this, you two can just leave.  
"Oh, please, it's not like either of us haven't seen you naked by now,"  **What**. "We had to hold you down while they put you in bandages, Ruby," Oh. "Sun is a gentleman, he's not going to touch you inappropriately. Besides, I'd kill him."  
  
Blake's fiendish grin turns into a genuine smile, and I blush. F-fine, let's just get this over with.

* * *

 

"How are you feeling?"  
  
Two days have passed. They were horrible. HORRIBLE, I tell you!  
"I'm not sure. I feel fine, the haze in my head has lifted... but..." I shrug. "I'm not up to a hundred percent."  
  
Sun saw me naked! Sun is a GUY!  
I mean, Blake did too, but...  
  
I try to focus on my Aura. Predictably, nothing happens. "I can't go out like this."  
  
Like, it was just to help me bathe... and dress...  
This has been a very sexually confusing time for me.  
  
Blake tilts her head a bit. Next to her, Sun is texting someone. "Do you think someone needs to unlock your Aura again?" No, I don't think it's that extreme. I can feel my Aura, it's like it's at the edges of my vision, if that makes sense. It just won't come out. If I needed someone to open my Aura for me, I wouldn't be able to feel it at all.  
  
"This is all so stupid," I groan. "'This medicine will even restore your Aura,'" I mock Weiss's clipped, perfect voice. "She's so full of crap."  
Sun shuts his scroll and leans back on his hands. "Well, you are coming along a lot better than you were two days ago. You can walk on your own now, and you can freely move about otherwise, so all you should have to do now is rebuild some of your arm strength so you can swing around that nutty weapon of yours, and you should be okay."  
  
"My Aura..."  
Sun waves it off. "I'm sure it'll come back in time," his face reeks of confidence, but his eyes are still worried. I'm not dumb, I do notice these things.  
"Sun does have a point," Blake mentions. "Go practice with your weapon tonight. I'll join you. Besides, Sun has made some modifications to it that you'll need to become aware of."  
  
...okay. I can do that. Both of them are right - I will need to practice at least my shooting, and worst case scenario I can devote all of my skill purely to sniping. I can still do stuff.  
  
I can still be useful.

* * *

 

Just outside of the Barrens is an airfield that used to be owned by the SDC. Abandoned in favor of a different location, the company never bothered tearing down the buildings, so occasionally we use it to practice.  
  
Incidentally, that's what I'm doing right now, and it's not going so well.  
  
Blake watches impassively as I bring  _Crescent Rose_  down in an overhead swing. She easily sidesteps the attack and flicks me on the nose. Ow. "You're better than this," she says. I know, but my arms feel so stiff. I tighten my grip on the haft and arc it backwards, flipping the blade and coming back around my left side with a reverse spinning attack. It doesn't work out; Blake dodges the attack and flicks me again. Come on, not the face.  
  
I hop back, ignoring the stinging sensation in my legs, and do a sideswing that I know is going to miss. Blake dodges it easily, but that's the point. I flip the blade, push Blake backwards before she can flick me, and do a one-handed backslash that, if I wasn't made of failure right now, would have easily caught her. But I'm weak right now, and it's obviously. Blake sees the swing coming and hits it with her palm, pushing  _Crescent Rose_  to her feet and disarming me at the same time. I scramble to pick it up, but she just flicks me again. Ow.  
  
"I'm so out of shape," I complain. "There's no way I can go on a job if I can't even use  _Crescent Rose_  properly."  
"Perhaps some exercises," Sun suggests from his spot on the floor nearby. I had honestly sorta forgotten he exists.  
"She needs the practice," Blake counters coolly.  
  
"She needs both if she's going to go back to... er, work," Sun fires back, quirking an eyebrow. "I know you want her to be able to defend herself, Blake, but we should probably start with exercises. Besides, she can still shoot. Just stay out of melee for a while," he looks over at me. "Speaking of shooting, how do the mods feel?"  
  
I swap  _Crescent Rose_  to its Semi-Auto mode. Sun has reprogrammed the weapon to have a heavier trigger and the barrel to accept different calibers. I pull the 7.62mm magazine off of my hip and load it into the weapon. "I'm used to a larger bullet than this, but it's fine, I think," I reply. "The kick doesn't hurt my arm."  
Sun nods. "Good. Once you're back up to form you can swap the weapon back to the larger round, but until then, stick with that one. I don't recommend using Sniper Mode until then," Makes sense. I sling _Crescent Rose_  on my back as he stands. "Come on, Ruby, let's-"  
  
All three of us hear the door open. Adam and Dad walk in, serious looks on their faces. Blake stares at her ex for a few seconds, her face unreadable, before she composes herself and goes neutral. "Sit down, everyone."  
  
Sun and Blake walk up next to me as we sit on the hangar floor. Dad and Adam sit next to us. They exchange glances before turning back to us. "Ruby, how is recovery going?"  
  
"Better than I could hope for, but not as well as I would've liked," I tell Dad. He seems satisfied with the answer. "But that's not why you two are here."  
"Right," Adam responds. "I was going to tell you this over comms, but Blake's new encryption isn't finished yet, so Xiao Long and I decided to seek you two out instead," he pauses to glance at Sun. "Wukong."  
  
"Taurus."  
I sense bad blood there.  
  
Dad pulls a scroll out of his pocket and sets it between us. The screen lights up and shows a map of one area of the city. "In eight days, the SDC is going to unveil it's newest Airship, the  _Whitley_." He glances at me and I shrug. "It's going to be the largest airship ever designed. During its first flight and christening, everyone is expected to be there in the event that 'certain parties' would wish to ruin the fun. That means all of the SDC runners, most security, and the family Schnee," he looks at me again. What? Ignoring it, I turn to Adam, who has another map pulled up.  
  
"The warehouses where they store Dust on the northeast end of the city is expected to lose a lot of its security on that night," he explains. "We have a plan, but it's going to require a lot of pieces fitting together."  
  
"The first part of the mission involves crashing that party," Dad cuts in. "Group A will make a very large, very obvious attack on the Airship, and undergo a hit-and-fade battle going the opposite direction of where Group B will be located. Group B..." he turns to Adam.  
  
"Group B will be raiding the Dust warehouse," he explains. "We're bringing in some White Fang bullheads. We're going to disable their sensors, fly in, grab the Dust, and fly out, hopefully with minimal resistance," he looks at Blake. "You're our best decker, Blake, but you'll have to perform twice as well as normal."  
  
"Blake is the key here," Dad continues. "No one in the White Fang or in our gang can come close to her skills. She will coordinate Group A, led by myself, while simultaneously bringing down the warehouse district's sensor networks. Group B, led by Adam, should go in completely undetected."  
  
"What about me?" I ask.  
"...It's your choice," Dad answers after a pause. "You can come with me, or you can go with Adam. Or, you can stay home," but this one sounds important. "It is, but if you don't think you're up to it..."  
  
"We're not going to force you, Ruby," Adam brings up. "The only one here necessary is Blake. You're the best runner we have, but in your state, if you don't want to fight... I won't make you. Neither will Tai," he looks over at Sun. "You can come to, Wukong, if you think you're up to it."  
  
"I'll go wherever Ruby does," Sun replies, and I'd be lying if my heart didn't flutter a bit. "So it's up to her."  
"Well..." I furrow my brow. "I'm in no condition to fight any of the Schnee or their runners right now. That might change over the next few days, but... I think it's best to be safe. I'll go with Adam's team," Adam, despite looking angry all the time, manages a smile.  
  
"We've never worked together," he mentions. That's true - Adam normally stays at the base rather than go out on missions, but according to Blake he used to be a fantastic runner. "You'll be part of my team, then. Have you worked with Nora and Ren before?"  
  
"Eh, like once," I reply. "I hear they're handfuls."  
"That they are, but they're my personal bodyguards and part of my goal of uniting both the humans against the SDC and the White Fang. I'm sure you'll fit right in with them. Blake," he turns and looks at the cat faunus. "...This will be our first mission with you as Control."  
  
"Well, there was that one time in Mistral," Blake says. "You know which one."  
Adam laughs. "I don't think that one counts," Dad rolls his eyes. What? "A few months ago Blake and I were undercover trying to root out an SDC operation in Mistral that was... extra legal. I took point while Blake laid around in the hotel all day."  
  
"Hey! I did some work!" Blake huffs, blushing slightly.  
"Yeah, 'some work'."  
  
Realization dawns on me. "Guys!  **EW**!"  
Sun sighs, looking at me. "You sure you're up to this, kid?"  
  
"This is my chance to prove that I can get back into the game," I tell him. "I've got to take this."  
"No one is forcing you, Ruby," Adam repeats. I look at Dad, with his serious face and hopeful eyes.  
  
"Yeah... I do."

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Ruby engages the SDC during a head-on fight, then later fights Weiss 1 on 1.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies about the delay. I was working on something else entirely for a writing prompt. Eleven thousand words of shameless fanservice and fluff are now on reddit.

 

 
    
    
    Encryption System CHESHIRE CAT Active
    

 

My vision blurs as Blake's encryption system comes alive, scrambling the signals of everyone onboard the scattered three bullheads. I look to my side at a man much older than me, wearing a long green tailcoat over a black shirt with white pants and black boots. This is Lie Ren, our resident ACTUAL martial artist, unlike Yang and Dad, who's form of martial arts involves punching people a lot.  
  
Across from me sits a woman with bright orange/red hair, a black jacket over a white shirt, and pink shorts, an actual grenade launcher in her lap. Nora Valkyrie, a nutjob from what I've been told, is also the gang's heavy weapons expert. She's supposedly on a permanent sugar high, but I haven't seen it.

  
To my left is Sun, wearing a black long-sleeved open shirt, leaning against his arms and chewing on a straw. His weapons (which are GUN-CHUCKS by the way) hang loosely off of his belt.  
  
Next to Nora sits Adam, an air of calm about him. All four of us are wearing the wolf's mask of the White Fang. I nod to Adam. He smacks a fist against the side of the bullhead twice, and the vehicle lifts into the air.  
  
We're far outside of Atlas's city limits, coming in as low and quietly as we can. White Fang bullheads are modified with "silent running" stealth - that is, using a massive amount of Wind Dust to mask the sound of the engines, painted a dark, swirling gray to match the sky, with opaque canopies. These are very expensive to run, only brought out when the cost of using them is outweighed by the benefit.  
  
" _Everyone is online_ ," Blake's voice echoes in my head. " _Group A, status?_ "  
  
" _We're about... sixty feet underneath them,_ " Dad's voice says. Group A consists of our best runners at... well, running. Right now, Group A is climbing up the side of the SDC tower using suction gear and wearing special Dust-infused and Nanite-laced clothing that causes light to warp around them, ALMOST rendering them invisible. Until they activate their Auras or deploy the "wings" on the sides of their clothes, they shouldn't be spotted unless something goes horribly wrong. I know that above them floats the newest SDC airship, the  _Whitley_ , ready for its christening ceremony.  
  
Although the Schnee family and several top executives will be present, their mission isn't an assassination. The small group of six runners are only there to scare the drek out of everyone, namely by throwing explosives. If they kill anyone, that would be great, but it probably won't happen. Dad and his team are walking into the Taijitu's nest to only serve as a distraction so our team nearly all the way across the city can take advantage of the surprise in the warehouse district of Atlas. Most of the area's security will already be swarming the SDC tower, since the lives of their bosses are way more important, but we're still heading into what will be a pretty hectic firefight.  
  
I take a deep breath to calm my nerves. The past week has been kind to me, and I'm almost healed. I still can't activate my Semblance without undergoing extreme pain, so that's off the table. If I push myself too hard, that's also bad. I'm basically locked at doing really well but not perfect. So... THAT sucks.  
  
...I really wish Yang and Pyrrha were here. Last I heard, they had found her for only a moment before she vanished again, heading east. Yang is confused, angry, and jealous that we're gonna go fighting.  
  
" _We're on the underside of the area now,_ " Dad brings up. " _Alright, team, toss your grenades in five, four, three..._ "  
  
I find myself tensing up. It's time. I look at Adam, and he nods back.

It's time.

* * *

**Digital Revolution:  
** **Chapter Five: Chase Me**

* * *

_"Encountering Black Ice for the area... hold on..."_  
  
"Blake, we're coming up to the site now."  
  
_"Ice cleared. I've got access to infrared imaging now. Looks like you have... sixty foot-mobiles and some amount of droids."_  
  
I frown. That's still a lot more than I wanted to fight, but Adam and I had discussed this already. Normally the area had a lot more, being the primary area where commercially-available Dust was kept. Parsing it down to a handful of security personnel and some droids was about as good as it was going to get. Fortunately, twelve runners should be more than a match for any SDC goons.  
  
Should be.  
  
Dad's group, meanwhile, had fallen back, deploying their wingsuits and going into a running battle across the rooftops of Atlas. Dad had engaged with his ex-wife's brother, but the fights hadn't lingered. Even now, I could easily imagine dad jumping between rooftops, pausing only to use his shot-gauntlets to bring down SDC drones. His group was scattering, as per the plan, to make pursuit harder.  
  
_"Guys, we have a Schnee!_ " someone shouts. " _Damn, I forgot how FAST she is! Look out-_ " there's a sharp crackle of static, and I feel the color drain from my face as I realize that Sky is dead. He was an ass, but he didn't deserve to die, surely.  
  
" _ **Winter**_ ," Dad and I say simultaneously, and I shake myself. Winter is good, but she can't beat Dad. Not because he's better, but because he's smarter, more flexible. Winter Schnee is a lot like a robot - for all of her skill, she's pretty bad at adapting to new situations on the fly. The reason she's a great hunter of runners is because she can account for most of our escape tactics, but being dropped in on like this is probably shocking, even for her.  
  
The five of us stand, and I'm briefly lost in thought. What about Weiss? Is she adaptable? She's certainly more independent, but that doesn't mean flexible. She's confident to the point of insanity. Of alll our plans, Weiss is the one who worries us the most. It would be JUST LIKE HER to be where we're going already, based off of nothing more than a hunch, a stupid guess based solely off of the fact that I'm not with Dad.  
  
I voiced these concerns to Adam, who brushed it off. His logic was sound: twelve runners against one underage Schnee? Yeah, it wouldn't even be a challenge, and Adam is one of the best swordsmen I've ever seen. He could knock her down a peg.  
  
"Everyone, get ready!" he commands. "The bullheads are going to drop us above the site! We have to defend them while they acquire the Dust! This should take no more than three hundred seconds!" He hits the side of the bullhead again. The pilot presses a button, and the side hatch opens. "I hope you four prepared your landing strategy well!"  
  
I grin and take a step forward, but Adam puts a hand on my shoulder. "Not yet!" he tells me. "You're our Ace tonight, Red!"  
  
Ah, fine. In normal runs, the role of Ace is given to someone who can move between groups, or has multiple combat roles. Pyrrha normally has that role, but tonight I've got it. I step off to the side and watch as Adam counts down from five, and he, Ren, Nora, and Sun all jump out at the same time. Sun still doesn't seem to like Adam, but he and Blake won't tell me a thing about it, just that 'it's in the past' and 'long before Blake was in the picture'.  
  
"Contact!" I hear the report of a grenade launcher. "Let's get them, Ren!"  
  
"Dispatching droids. Adam, behind you."  
  
A crack and slashing sound. "Down. Teams Two and Three have dropped. Ruby, it's time."  
  
I step forward and look down as all around the warehouses, gunfire erupts and Dust starts flying. This is my element. This is my moment. My hood trails behind me dramatically, whipped in the wind. I hold up the box that is  _Crescent Rose_  and deploy it in Scythe Mode. "Blake, play me a song."  
  
" _Seriously_?" Blake laughs. " _Music now_?"  
"Just do it, for me?" I ask again. "Make it something exciting."  
_"Sure thing."_  
  
" _Alright, Red,_ " Blake laughs again. " _Go get them_."  
I turn around, smile, and fall backwards out of the bullhead.

[(A/N: Dreamcatcher - Chase Me)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6GfTH2x1lc) 

Breathe in. Breathe out. Flare your Aura, make it come to life.  _Feel_ the heat of life around you. Taste the air as you inhale. Now, open your eyes, Shadowrunner. Do your duty, and do it well. Become the hero you always wanted to be.

Flipping to stare down, I heft  _Crescent Rose_  and start spamming the trigger. SDC Droids, swarming out of the warehouses, start dropping into their component parts. I hit the ground with a flourish, landing right in front of a human wearing SDC Security colors. I hold my weapon one-handed in front, spinning the scythe as I deflect the wild firing of an assault rifle as I close in, twisting the blade to come in from above and bisecting him. Before his body falls, I rush forward with  _Crescent Rose_  pointing backwards, letting off shots to increase my forward momentum.  
  
I barrel into a group of droids as they try to acquire me. I spin-slash, carving through them like some sort of bladed top, giving the last one a hard roundhouse that sends it careening into another member of security. Before she can shove the droid off, I run  _Crescent Rose_  through it and her at the same time, reversing momentum and dragging both of them across the concrete.  
  
"It's her! The Reaper!" I hear another shout. "Fire!  ** _FIRE_**!" To my right! I fling both the droid and human bodies off of my scythe and face the security guards in front of me, hefting their weapons and firing. I spin  _Crescent Rose_  again, deflecting bullets with both the weapon and my Aura. While spinning the weapon I fire once, twice, three times, and all three guards drop. I break back into a run, catching up with Ren as he fires into another group of droids, ducking and weaving between their poorly-aimed shots.

"Ruby!" he shouts. I spin and lower my blade. Ren jumps on it and I pull the trigger, using the recoil and my own strength to lift Ren into the air and send him flying. He lands among two security guards and unloads two magazines into their backs. More droids show up, rotary cannons spinning and pointing at Ren. I jump forward, deflecting the shots with rapid spins of my scythe as an explosion erupts behind me. One of the droids collapses into a heap as Nora falls into the fight, hammer leading and smashing it to pieces, catching the other machine off guard. Nora swings high as I swing low, and we rip the robot apart. Nora smirks at me.  
  
I move on. I rush deeper into the fray, joining with Adam as he makes quick, short slices. He doesn't even seem bothered as he WALKS forward, bullets passing through him as if he wasn't even there. He smirks and fires his weapon, sending the katana flying into the face of one guard. He's suddenly with them, grabbing the katana and making one swift strike so fast I can barely keep up, and the two guards collapse. "Go!" he shouts.  
  
I run.  
I am a whirlwind. I dive into another fray, helping allies with my scythe in my practiced hands. A twirl of the blade, an upward thrust, and both oil and blood soak the scythe blades.  
  
I am become Death.  
As I charge headlong into another battle, I forgot how much FUN this was.  
Yes, that's morbid as hell, but you try being shot at. Changes your... perspective.  
  
More droids, more humans. Aura is being spent by my allies as they start taking more defensive positions. Only I'm in the front, and I have a plan. Security and droids glare at me as I open the bolt and slide in a single Gravity Dust round. I shove the bolt in, point  _Crescent Rose_  backwards, and fire.  
  
If you thought I was fast before, then oh boy do I have news for you.  
It's not Semblance speed, but it's more than enough. I rip into their exposed center, twisting  _Crescent Rose_  and dragging it along the concrete, the dual blades leaving the impression of claw marks as I slash upwards and forwards, coming to a stop and spin around, blades out. Droids crumple into a heap. I use the mechanical corpses as cover to reload, and launch myself again. The humans stand no chance as my blades sink into them. With a twirl, I behead one and cleave another, balancing on one leg long enough to kick a third in the face, stunning him long enough for me to jab the haft's speartip into his eye.

  
Friendly gunfire erupts around me, cutting down even more guards and droids as they move to flank me. Nora hops on top of a crate and lays down covering fire with her grenade launcher as I slowly back away from another wave of droids, twirling my scythe and flaring my Aura again. Explosions - PINK explosions - rock the area, and the gunfire dies down. Little security remains as they're cut down by my allies. Soon, only a single guard remains, and he's terrified. He begs for mercy.  
  
For a brief second I consider giving it to him. Adam makes the decision for me as a perfect shot sends him sprawling.  
  
"Hey!" I look over my shoulder. "He was surrendering!"  
"Don't need him," shrugs the faunus as he walks across the landscape of both mechanical and fleshy bits to me. "I think that's all of them."  
"Not quite," I heft  _Crescent Rose_  over my shoulder, point it back, and fire. A droid crawling without legs shatters into pieces. "Now it's over."  
  
Adam chuckles. "You're always a sight when you're in battle."  
Yeah, I guess so. I look over at the bullheads as they use winches to grab ahold of the massive shipping containers full of Dust. I fold up  _Crescent Rose_  and take a deep breath. "I still got it."  
  
" _Impressive work_ ," Blake says in my head, and it's like I can hear her smiling. " _Good news from Group A, looks like most of them got out. Only two other runners were taken down by the anti-runners._ "  
  
"Right," I nod. "This... went surprisingly well!"  
"Indeed," Adam nods back. "Thank you, Ruby. And you, Blake."  
" _W-well, someone has to be Mission Control_ ," stammers the cat-eared faunus. I punch Adam in the arm.  
"Get a room," I huff.

* * *

The crates are so massive, the backup internal winches have to be used along with the external ones. The doors are forced to stay open because of this, the steel ropes straining against the weight of the containers. It's raining again, and as I peer out, watching the engines of the bullhead flare with power, I'm pelted by ice cold raindrops.  
  
" _Unit Zero-Two confirms pickup_ ," a voice says over the comm.  
" _Unit Zero-One also confirms pickup,_ " our pilot answers. " _Commencing Exfil, over._ "  
Three bullheads take to the air, much more slowly than before. As we lift off, I look towards the SDC tower. We lost three people today, but it could have went much worse. Speaking of, I wonder if we're safe from detection by now.  
  
" _You are_ ," Blake tells me.  _"SDC sensors have been scrambled the best I can give you. Begin the switch."_  
All three bullheads simultaneously activate silent running and change direction. It won't stop anyone from seeing us with their own eyes, but with Blake scrambling most local sensors and jamming wireless signals, even that would be useless. Still... I continue to look up at the tower. Assuming even the best case scenario, we're gonna have to fly for a long time to make sure no one saw us go, and even these modified bullheads can't fly that fast when they're carrying tons of Dust underneath them.  
  
Hmm... what's that? "Hey, Adam, come look."  
Adam stands up, walking over to me and peering out. He spots the same thing I do - two running lights lifting off of one of the tower's landing zones, near the spire. "A bullhead?" he questions. "No... it's moving too fast. Look at how it's rising from the tower. Blake, can you calculate the speed?"  
  
"Looks like we have about... Mach point-five," she replies. Adam and I look at each other. That's well within an unmodified bullhead's maximum speed of Mach .7, but it takes time to reach that point, and our loaded-down transports are even slower than that.  
  
"A missile strike?" I suggest. The SDC would be nuts to shoot missiles at us, but if they realize what we've done - and there's a good chance of that - they might resort to such a measure. There ARE Surface-to-Air missile launchers at the top of the tower, but we were certain that they couldn't aim this far down. Besides, we have chaff countermeasures.  
  
"No..." Adam shakes his head. "I don't think so."  
Sun stands up and walks to me. "You don't think..." he trails off. No, I DO think, it's just stupid. Even travelling at Mach .5, it'd take several minutes to catch up with us. "We should shoot it down," he says.  
  
I agree. "Ruby, you're the best shot, get up there," Adam orders, walking to the center of the bullhead. He reaches up and yanks down a deployable ladder that leads to a hatch on the roof. I climb up and open it, feeling the rush of wind between my fingertips. Taking a deep breath, I jump out and ram the Scythe blades into the hull of the bullhead. I take aim at the running lights as they fast approach.  
  
It's... It looks like someone strapped a rocket to a tube and called it a day. I know what it is, having seen it used a few times before: It's called a Rapid Deployment System, normally used by the Atlas military to deploy soldiers quickly to the front. Essentially a coffin, it's rarely used because it just as often kills its occupant as it does deliver them safely. They're VERY fast, but they burn out quickly. They also have relatively thin armor. I look through the scope and let my mask's targeting computer link with  _Crescent Rose's_ , and they offer me a firing solution. I fire, cycle the bolt, and fire again. Bullets ping off of the side of the advancing object, but do little to slow it down.  
  
That's fine. I reload and do it again. Crack, ping, crack, ping, crack...  
The coffin  **EXPLODES**.  
  
Huh. I guess it might have been a missile? I look through the scope again. Nothing. Debris falls, but no bodies go with it. Maybe she was disintegrated?  
I stand up, scanning the sky. Still nothing. Maybe she bailed out early? CAN you bail out early? No, this doesn't sit right with me. I yank  _Crescent Rose_  out and spin it, grabbing the hatch with the flat of the blade, and pull myself back in. "Guys, she's gone, but she's not dead."  
  
"So... where did she go, then?" Sun asks. I shrug. I have no idea, but it's the damndest thing. Someone that white and pale against the night sky, even if it's cloudy, can't just vanish like that. At least I don't think she can. Adam continues looking out one of the side hatches, Ren on the other, but there's nothing. Wait.  
  
"Adam-"  
"I feel it too!" Adam draws his sword and turns around as Weiss drops form the same hatch I just did, catching her outstretched rapier with his katana and shoving it sideways. She recovers as she lands and stabs forward, the tip of her weapon grinding against the flat of Adam's. There's no room in here to swing  _Crescent Rose_  properly as a scythe, so I split it into its dual-sword mode and swing it at her big stupid head.  
  
Without even looking, she raises her free hand in the air. An ice-blue Glyph forms above her and shoves me back into a black one against he back of the bullhead. Wait, what, I can't move! Weiss stands up and holds her rapier sideways, catching a horizontal slash from Adam. Sun unhooks his gunchucks and attacks, clubs spinning rapidly, but Weiss, again without even looking, catches one of them while also leaning back and sideways to avoid Adam's thrust. She slashes with her rapier hand, forcing Adam to deflect, while flipping Sun's weapon in her other and firing it point-blank at his face, sending him sprawling and shoved into the back of the bullhead. It's then I notice the black Glyph holding us in place. So  _that's_ why I can't move.  
  
Adam slashes, but Weiss jumps OUT of the bullhead, landing on a blue glyph and leaping back inside. She flicks a switch on her rapier, spinning the cylinder in the middle, and her blade glows red. As Nora moves in to attack, she points it at her while using a blue glyph to deflect Adam's sword, sending fire Dust in Nora's face. Weiss pulls the trigger on her blade handle, sparking the fire Dust and causing Nora to be engulfed by an explosion, sending her back with Sun and I.  
  
Adam slashes again, Weiss easily deflecting the attack with her own sword despite me not even being able to see the attack. She kicks Adam forward, kneels down, and spins her revolver again. Dust-infused lines in her clothing glow white, and she stabs forward, sending Adam flying out of the bullhead. Ren comes at her in a flurry, jumping in with a series of low kicks that puts her on the backstep, but she flourishes her blade to catch one of his feet. Ren looks down, and Weiss uses the opportunity to shove him back with a blue Glyph, to the back of the bullhead with the rest of us.  
  
Weiss twirls her rapier, staring at me impassively. "I expected more," she says, walking towards me. "You disappoint me, Ruby."  
She thrusts with her rapier, but Adam swings in from the opposite side of the bullhead, kicking her with both feet and sending her careening into me. Having no use of my arms and legs, before she recovers I headbutt her, mask first, sending her back to Adam. She instinctively drops to a crouching position and sweeps with a leg, tripping Adam back towards us. Before the black Glyph can hold him, too, it overloads and disables.  
  
"Get her!" Adam yells, getting back on his feet. Weiss rolls her eyes, actually  _ROLLS HER EYES_ , and raises her right hand. I feel myself pulled forward alone. Weiss grabs me by the hood and spins me around, rapier blade pointed at my throat, and I see a blue Glyph along the back wall of the bullhead fade. Oh, no, you're not killing me this way!  
  
I lock one of my legs in hers and shove back as hard as I can. Weiss's rapier bounces off of my Aura as she stumbles. I spin around, grab her by the shirt, and shove her against the wall. Weiss draws both legs up and kicks me right out of the bullhead, but I manage to grab onto the door and hang, suspending several hundred feet into the air. Weiss looks to her right, then back at me, and runs for me, leaping out of the bullhead and grabbing me by the collar, pulling the both of us off.  
  
"What are you doing?!" I scream at her, grabbing Crescent Rose off of my back.  
"Landing strategy!" she shouts back at me.  _Landing strategy_?! How am I your landing strategy?! "You won't let BOTH of us die!"  
  
...God damnit.

[(A/N: Celldweller - Switchback)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4o3cYMXgaP0)

  
I deploy  _Crescent Rose_  into Scythe Mode as we get nearer to the ground. Weiss still has me by the collar, but she's right, I have no intentions of dying, even if that means saving her in the process. I stomp both boots on the blades of the Scythe and start spamming the trigger. The high-velocity rounds are specialized to have a lot of kick to them, and with some clever use of black and blue Glyphs and trigger spam, Weiss and I slam into the roof of an old train station, falling through it and landing in a heap on the dusty floor below.  
  
I recover first, scrabbling up to my feet with my Scythe, and turn around, holding it up and ready. Here in the open, I have the advantage. Weiss stands up, brushes the dust off, and holds  _Myrtenaster_  out in front of her in a fencer's stance, right hand held high with each fingertip holding a glyph.  
  
" _Red_!" Blake's voice shouts in my head.  
"I'm fine, make sure we get that Dust," I hiss.  
_"Are you sure?"_  
"...truthfully?" I lower Crescent Rose briefly. "No. But its me and Weiss now, and I'm not letting this opportunity slip away."  
  
Weiss actually smiles at me. "If you're finished..."  
I take my mask off and toss it aside. It's a useful tool, but with the threat of distraction from Dad or Adam or Blake, it's best to not use it for now. I heft  _Crescent Rose_  and grin back at her. I've been  **waiting**  for this. "Let's see how good of an employee you think I am after this."  
  
"Noted."  
I cycle the bolt, hold  _Crescent Rose_  behind me, and fire, flinging myself directly at Weiss.

Weiss's clothes glow a pale blue along Dust-infused lines. She catches  _Crescent Rose_  with the Glyphs at her fingers and shoves me back, raising  _Myrtenaster_ and thrusting. I twist to avoid the strike, spinning my scythe. She dodges the blade but I catch her with the spear tip, causing her Aura to flare and shove her back. Weiss counters with a rapid series of attacks, thrust, slash, slash, thrust. I have to use  _Crescent Rose_ 's haft to block the attacks, put on the defensive, but find an opening when she pauses.  
  
Twisting the scythe, I reverse-swing, but I miss entirely, because she's just not there! How? I scan the room, raising my scythe... and there! Above me! Weiss dives down, blade first and forcing me to block with the blades. She's too fast, though, and reorients herself in midair on a black Glyph that shifts Blue and launches her sideways to another, then another, then still another! I can't keep track of her movements as she bounces towards me, so I begin to rapidly spin my scythe, betting that she won't close  **OW**.  
  
Somehow she finds a way between the spin of  _Crescent Rose_  and jabs  _Myrtenaster_  right into me. My Aura blocks the worst of it, but the attack sends me reeling backwards. Weiss dashes forward and strikes with rapid thruts, pushing me further back and over the old train rails. She leaps up, does a spin, and comes down blade first, slamming me into the ground. Fuck me, ow. I stand up, twirling  _Crescent Rose_  around, and jump back at her. Wait, is her rapier glowing red? Nevermind. I swing  _Crescent Rose_  in an overhead arc and bring it crashing down on top of her. Weiss lifts  _Myrtenaster_  and blocks the strike, blade pointing at me, and pulls the trigger.  
  
I'm flung backwards again, but this time I catch myself against the ground with a blade brake. Before Weiss can charge I spam the trigger on  _Crescent Rose_ , forcing her to spin her rapier and block the shots, putting her on the defensive. I yank the scythe blades out and run at her again, this time coming in with a spinning slash. She blocks the attack with her rapier and ducks the rest of the spin.  _Myrtenaster_  glows green and she shoves me back onto a black Glyph that shifts green and rockets me upwards to another black one. I'm stuck again!  
  
Weiss jumps between blue Glyphs, bringing up her up to me, and launches herself at me. Blue glyphs appear in a sphere around me, and the next several seconds are pure pain as Weiss dashes between each one so fast I can't keep up, running me through with such a rapid series of thrusts and slashes that my Aura struggles to stay alive. She finishes the combo with a double-heeled kick to my back, sending me flying into a wall. Weiss lands calmly nearby as I stand, spinning the cylinder to  _Myrtenaster_. "I told you, it's impossible to beat me, Ruby," she says nonchalantly. Ugh, fuck you, Weiss. I use  _Crescent Rose_  as a crutch to help me stand, glaring at her and her stupid smirk as she calmly runs a finger along the rapier.

Wait, is that a rose petal? I stare at it as it falls to the ground and disentegrates. I wonder...

I look back at Weiss as she summons another round of Glyphs, lines on her clothes glowing white, and a peal of thunder cracks as Dust-powered frost beams twist and turn at me. I reach deep within my Aura... and activate my Semblance. I dash through the frost beams and slash upwards, finally getting past her stupid defensive stance and sending her flying into the air. I stop, change direction, and leap into the air, screaming by her with another side-slash, bouncing off the roof for another, then emptying my magazine into her stupid body as she falls. The bullets actually cause her to bounce in midair for a second before she lands with an audible thud.

I don't take time to gloat. I'm sweating - using my Semblance for the first time in weeks is taxing me, but if I can keep it up for a bit longer, I can take her.

Weiss stands up and shakes herself, and _Myrtenaster's_ revolver lights up as she summons more magic. I charge at her, but this time Weiss dodges, runes of power etching themselves on both her rapier and on her body, and I see Glyphs forming on her face and hands. She's channeling her Semblance into her body! I dash again, and this time Weiss dashes as well. The both of us connect with our blades, sending us flying in opposite directions. _Myrtenaster_ lands next to me, and a loud clank tells me that _Crescent_ _Rose_ is far behind. I scramble to my feet and glare as Weiss picks up MY SCYTHE, twirling it effortlessly in her hands, another smirk appearing on her Glyph'd out face. I grab _Myrtenaster_ , still glowing white, and charge again.

This time, we meet in the air above the rails, striking with weapons we're not proficient with but can still use. Weiss spins _Crescent_ _Rose_ as fast as I can, coming down with rapid spin-strikes while I go at her, alternating between blocking and striking as she slowly pushes me back. I find an opening and hold my hand out, grabbing _Crescent_ _Rose_ and pulling back, forcing it out of her hands. She kicks me, causing me to lose my grip on her rapier, and she catches it before it falls. The two of us are thrown back to opposite ends of the train station.

Damn, she hurts. Scythe Form isn't working. I get on to my feet and split  _Crescent Rose_ into dual-sword mode and run after her again, using my Aura to leap across the gap between station platforms. Weiss stumbles into a standing position and holds her rapier up, catching one of my blades with it, but open to another as I hit her with a sideswipe. The attack sends her reeling, and I see her Aura flare. It's getting weaker. Ignoring the searing pain as my own strains, I go after her again, and now Weiss is on the backstep, using  _Myrtenaster_ and her open hand to deflect and parry my swings. Her smile has vanished, but she doesn't look worried as she should. Her face is calm as the Glyphs on her swirl.

I grimace and take a step back, recombining  _Crescent Rose_ and bearing down on her with a full powered swing. She blocks the attack, but I see her face twist in pain. She's weakening. She's weakening! I can beat her! I just have to finish her off! The Glyph on her face starts wavering as I leap backwards, charging my Semblance. Weiss assumes a defensive stance as I pour almost everything I have left into my attack, and I dash forward, moving faster than the human eye can see, blade swinging right at her, and-

She catches my attack mid swing. She CATCHES my attack! Using her Aura to deflect the majority of the slash, she LETS me hit her, but this time has her right hand up, Glyphs glowing, squeezing the blade of _Crescent Rose_ and staring at me passively. "That's it?" she asks. "Come on, now, Ruby," with that, she thrusts _Myrtenaster_ forward and sends me hurtling backwards again. I break my fall, moving to a one-handed grip on _Crescent Rose_ , and dash at her again. Blue Glyphs shimmer underneath Weiss's feet, and it's almost like she vanishes, moving so fast I can't keep up with her.

The burst of speed from her places her behind me, so I swing backwards. Weiss jumps up and LANDS on _Crescent Rose's_ blade, thrusting downward and digging the point of it into my chest. My Aura eats most of the hit, but I can feel it weaken. I'm shoved backwards again. "I guess this is the part where I stop 'messing around'," Weiss says calmly, flourishing _Myrtenaster_ and stabbing it in the ground. Ice crystals begin to smash their way through the floor in my direction. Nope, not being caught in that! I dash backwards, powering my Semblance again, and this time I can feel my Aura straining.

The crystals explode into shards of ice, whipping at me but dealing no damage. Weiss takes advantage of the blast to charge THROUGH the ice at me, rapier held forward, and I deflect the strike with Crescent Rose's haft, shoving the pointy end upwards. I see the pale white light of Dust on her clothes as she shoves her free hand forward and catches me in the chest, using a blue Glyph to propel me back into the wall again. Before I can recover, Weiss is on me, thrusting with her rapier and shoving me deeper into the wall. Where did this power come from?! I reach out and use my Aura defensively, catching  _Myrtenaster_ with my outstretched hand and shoving her back. I peel myself off of the wall and go after her again, blade held out to my side, acting like I'm going for a front assault.

Weiss takes the bait, lifting her rapier in defense, and I use the last of my Aura to power my Semblance one more time. Before it can break completely, I dash behind her, wrap the scythe blade around her face, and pull the trigger. Weiss's Aura  _shatters_ , and I hear her scream in pain. My own Aura sinks into nothingness, and I finally smirk as she goes flying past me, bouncing along the ground. She stops her tumble, flips to her feet, and charges me- wait, are you serious? You have no Aura! Are you ready to die?!

I deflect one thrust, then two. How is she moving so fast?! I can't keep up with her movements, and when she slashes, all I see is blackness and searing pain, so much  _pain_ in my left eye. I gasp,  _Crescent Rose_ clatters to the ground, and I take a step back. What did you do?  _What did you do?!_

Weiss looks at me. I got her pretty good - the entire left side of her face is bleeding. I can feel my own blood trickle down on mine, and I think we match, actually. Weiss's face twists into a snarl. "No Aura," she hisses.  _Myrtenaster_ glows green, and she brings it down on  _Crescent Rose_ , and I watch as my scythe shatters into shrapnel. "No weapon," she continues, taking a step towards me. I raise my fists in a fighting stance but she moves, dashing behind me without the help of Glyphs and pointing her rapier at my throat. "No life," she breathes.

I turn around, fist raised. If I go down, then-

She smacks me. Uh...  _ow?_ "Just kidding," she wisps, lowering her rapier. I try to open my eye, but my left hurts... hurts so bad... ugh. I close it back. "What are you doing?" she hisses. "Do you want permanent damage?" Why aren't you killing me? "I told you, you're useful to me."

Well that's _dandy_. You just completely destroyed me and you're keeping me alive. "Not yet. As I said before, once I'm through with you, we'll fight for real, but you have a LONG way to go before you can defeat me," Weiss takes a few steps back, and I reach for a weapon that currently doesn't exist. _Crescent Rose's_ pieces scatter helplessly at my feet. "Yeah, it's probably toast. You'll have to get a new weapon."

"What do you want from me?" I touch the side of my face and pull my fingers back covered in blood. "You're considering this a win?"

"I could kill you if that would make you feel better."  
"I'm seriously considering it, but I have no desire to die tonight."  
"Good. You and I still have a lot to do, Ruby," Weiss sighs. "You know... I really wanted to just be friends with you."

"...what?"  
"It's true. I thought if I was nice to you, gave you help, gave you what you want, you'd be friends with me. We could form a camaraderie of sorts, but..." she looks me up and down. "I guess not," You've got to be crazy to think I'd be friends with the likes of you. "Probably!" she agrees. "I guess it was just a hope I had. Well... I guess even a Schnee can't always get what she wants, huh?" she turns around, walking away from me. Hey, wait! I move towards her, but the pain in my eye coupled with my Aura being drained causes me to fall to my knees. "...well, I guess not for lack of trying. Even disarmed, you still want to fight?"

I look up at her with my good eye. She twirls the revolver on _Myrtenaster_ and sets it to red. The blade glows with Dust. "I'm giving you the chance to walk away, Ruby," she says calmly. "I'm being charitable, you should take it."

"..." I look away from her. This is stupid. Everything is stupid. She's keeping me alive because I'm still useful to her, yet she beat me handily.

"It would look bad if I did the missions I plan on sending you on," she replies. "But I suppose if I just left you like this, it would look bad on my part. People might think I'm going soft," You still plan on working with me after this? "Of course! Just because we had a heated argument doesn't mean I want to kill you, Ruby. This is all you. YOU'RE the one who wants to fight me. I just had to remind you why that's a bad idea. I'm way better than you are, and probably way better than you'll ever be. But..." she points _Myrtenaster_ at me. "But I don't want you to die. Not now. So now that I've put you in your place, I'm leaving."

Wait, what?  
"You're terribly messed up," I say to her.  
"True, true!" she laughs, and her smile seems genuine. "You know, there's a part of me that hoped you would win and put me out of my... well, I won't say 'misery', because I'm not miserable. But ending my existence does have a certain appeal, wouldn't you say? Too bad that I'm completely incapable of laying down to die. I'll contact you when I have need of you."

Weiss lowers her rapier and walks up to me. Slowly, almost gently, she looks at the wound she's given me, and I stare at the one I've given her. I feel her fingers touch my face. Her face flashes with a million emotions, and she seems almost upset. "I'm sorry," she whispers. "You'll be okay. Your friends should be here soon," she closes her eyes, leans in, and...

Well.

This is not how I expected this to go at all.

Should I push her off? Let her do this? Do I accept this?

As if sensing what I'm thinking, Weiss breaks away, and there are tears in her eyes. "I'm so sorry..." she repeats. There's a cold feeling as I see her Aura come back to life. Glyphs appear around her, and in the blink of an eye, Weiss vanishes.

* * *

"So what happened?"  
"I fought Weiss and lost. Duh."  
"She just let you live?"  
"Well gee, Dad, thanks for being grateful I'm alive."  
"It's not that, Ruby, but I'm trying to understand her motivation."  
  
I watch with one eye as Dad paces the room in front of me while a White Fang medic wraps my left eye in a cloth bandage. There won't be permanent damage except for a scar that will probably run down the side of my face: Weiss's last insult to me, I guess. I don't even know anymore. As for her motivations...

Why did she kiss me?  
  
"I don't think she has one, Dad. She's just insane."  
"It's never that simple with a Schnee," Dad replies, scratching at his chin. "She's got a gameplan of some sort."  
"Well, yeah, but that doesn't mean it makes sense," I say. "She thoroughly knocked me around and still thinks I can be useful to her, which makes no sense. With what I saw out there, she's far above my skill level," You have no idea how much it hurts to admit that.  
  
"We're going to have to reassess our opinion of her, then," Dad decides. "If she so easily beat you, then we're lucky that we only had to face down Winter. Did you notice anything else about her?"  
  
"She uses a lot of Dust," I answer. "Her rapier has Dust vials in the revolver and her clothes are woven with it, too. She has a lot of Aura - I hit her with some really good strikes and it still held up, and this is on top of using her Semblance very liberally. I just couldn't wear her down."  
  
"She might be using Dust to augment her Aura," Dad says, thinking out loud. "Cinder does the same thing."  
  
"You can do that?"  
"Not directly. It's not like you can just eat Dust to power your Aura, but you can use Dust defensively to supplement your Aura's defenses. Come on, Ruby, we've talked about this," I... may have checked out mentally during that lesson. "In any event, do you think you could fight her again if needed?" Not without some hardcore training. "Damn... if we could get Pyrrha back, then I bet she could take Schnee on," No arguments there. Pyrrha is my hero, ya know. Speaking of.  
  
"Any word back from Yang and her team?" I ask, switching subjects.  
"No, unfortunately not," Dad sighs. "They're still tracking her down, and the little evidence we've gathered suggests she's searching for something," Okay, but what could she possibly need that requires her to start in Vacuo? "We don't know."  
  
Damn. Alright. Dad looks at his scroll and mumbles something. "Alright, I'm going to meet up with Adam so we can log how much Dust we stole from the SDC. Good job out there," he nods at me, leaving the room as the medic finishes patching my eye up. She says something about not touching it, so of course that's the first thing I do, and hey, it hurts. Imagine that. I hop off of the bed and reach around for- oh, right,  _Crescent Rose_  is broken. Mercury says he THINKS he can fix it, but it's going to take a lot of time. I step out of the medical room into the temporary HQ.  
  
Built out of some sort of bunker from a time when the Grimm were plentiful and dangerous, this place would be a great base of operations if it didn't take half a day on foot to make it to and from Atlas. It's secure, secluded, and more or less invulnerable to enemy fire. The biggest drawback is that there's nowhere to park the bullheads, so they have to be left out in the open, hidden under heat-absorbing tarps that blend in with the ground. The hallways are cramped, but the rooms are plentiful and some are even spacious.  
  
I don't even know where I'm going. This is the first time I've been here. I catch up with a few members of the gang, but everyone is mostly too busy to stay and talk. It's only by blind dumb luck I walk into the room that Blake is sitting in. It's a large, well ventilated room, with Blake's monstrosity of a computer system along the back wall. There are dozens of wires connected to a single cord, which are in turn connected to the back of Blake's head.  _Gambol Shroud_  - the computer system, not Blake's alias - can only be accessed through a datajack. It can be decked, but I've never seen anyone do it - even the SDC has never managed to get past the security of Blake's mind.  
  
It's kind of creepy, in a way. Blake's eyes twitch as she glances at several different screens while also being fed data directly into her head, her way of helping visualize things. The rest of her body is slack in the chair, almost like she's a prisoner of her own volition. Only the twitching of her eyes and the rise and fall of her chest are any indication she's alive - not even her ears twitch at my approach. In this state, Blake is extremely powerful on the net, but also vulnerable. If I yank the wired connection out of her head, she could suffer from dumpshock. A severe enough dumpshock makes you slip into a coma at best, or just kill you otherwise.  
  
There are stories of deckers who have tried to intentionally dumpshock themselves directly INTO the Internet, leaving their bodies behind, but according to Blake that's never been proven a success. She always says it with this look on her face, like she's hiding something.  
  
I poke Blake in the shoulder. Hey, Blake. Poke. Hey. Poke. Blaaaake. Pokepokepokepokepoke.  
"Huh? What?" Blake looks around wildly for a second. "Hold on, let me logout," The system begins to shut down, seemingly of its own accord, every monitor going black one by one, until only one remains. "Okay, yank me," I reach to the back of her head and pull out the jack. Blake spasms for a second as her mind returns to her body or whatever, but she shakes it off. "Okay, who-  _Ruby_!" Weakly, Blake stands up and pulls me into a hug. "I was so worried! I tried to logout to come see you when you returned but Adam needed me to track SDC response to our operation."  
  
Blake is soft. Like a cat. I hug her back for a moment, unable to keep the stupid smile off of my face when she finally lets go of me. "Aw, you DO care."  
  
"Oh hush," she stares at me, gently touching the bandage over my eye. Ahh, that stings a bit. "Sorry. I heard it stopped short of taking your eye out," Yeah, it was a warning with a pretty clear message: You cannot defeat me. She was having fun with it, too. Even as fast as I am, I couldn't keep up with her when she dashes around like that. Worse still, I don't even think she was trying.  
  
Don't... don't tell Weiss I said that. You know, on the off chance you ever meet her.  
  
Anyway, I stand there while Blake dotes on me, complaining something about how "the medical texts I stole said that you should wrap it FIVE times, not FOUR" and "We need to get you some food to get your Aura back up to increase the healing process" and "Oh if your sister was here now she'd be so mad" and suddenly I realize that Blake is doing something that I've never seen Dad do, and it's a lot to take in at once, and my eye is stinging a bit and not my bad one and why am I becoming sad I don't do sad and Blake why are you hugging me again?  
  
"I'm just so glad you're okay," she sighs. "Without your mask I couldn't see what was going on and satellite imagery couldn't see through the ceiling of the train station. Come with me, Sun's been asking about you, too," wait, why? "I think he's grown attached, something about how you remind him of his little brother or something," So Blake takes my hand and drags me through the bunker, leading me down its narrow hallways to a different room altogether, this one full of practice droids for hand-to-hand combat. Sun is sitting on a bench, shirtless because of course, with a towel around his neck.  
  
"Hey!" he waves us over, standing up. "Kiddo, you're alive," he flashes a grin at me. Oh God those abs I need to look away. "Good! I heard you got hurt, feared the worst."  
  
"Haha, well, you know my reputation," I laugh again nervously. "If the Grim Reaper was taken down by a Schnee that would be... well, bad," I put on my best smile. Sun looks like he wants to say something, then shakes it off.  
  
"Let's say the three of us get out of here," he suggests. "Atlas is locked down because of the raid, but there's a town about fifty miles the other way that's quiet and faunus-friendly, so..." he trails off.  
  
"How do you plan on getting there?" Blake stares at him with only the slightest hint of accusation.  
  
"Oh, I have my ways..."  
"You stole Tai's car keys, didn't you."  
"What? No! I wouldn't do such a thing!"  
"Sun..."  
"Hm? What?"

* * *

 

So yeah, he stole Dad's car.  
I feel like I should say something, but I can't bring myself to. He drags the three of us all the way in the opposite direction of Atlas, to a town who's name I can't remember. It's old and a bit run-down, and it's obvious why it's faunus friendly. I think I've seen one other human this whole time. Sun leads us to what could on a good day be a hole in the wall.  
  
"Hey, everyone!" he greets with the dumbest smile on his face I've ever seen.  
"Sun!" a young woman with rabbit ears waves from behind the bar. "Oh, and Blake!"  
"Hi, Velvet," Blake waves back. "You're doing well," she leans down to me. "Velvet is a White Fang contact of mine. She and I were in... that business... together," Ah. Well, anyone who Blake likes can't be that bad, right?  
  
Velvet seats us at the bar, putting me between Sun and Blake. I think I'm too young to be here, so I pull my hood up and keep my head down. "I won't say anything if you won't," the rabbit girl winks.  
  
"Get her something heavy to get her Aura back up," Sun tells her. "She's been through a lot lately."  
"Oh? Do tell. We heard about the raid, you know. Smashing work there," she shouts something to what I think might be a kitchen. I dunno, this is all weird and new to me. Blake puts a comforting arm around me, and I relax a bit. "So, who's this then?" Velvet leans forward and smiles at me. "Cute kid. Get your eye poked out?"  
  
"Something like that," I mumble. "I got into a fight."  
"Oh, well, all of us have done that," she pats me on the head. "Did you win?" Ugh. I don't wanna talk about it.  
"She fought a Schnee," Sun says loudly enough for everyone in a kilometer radius to hear. "She lived to tell about it, too."  
  
Velvet gasps. "You're the Gri-"  
"Sh," Blake cuts her off. "Let's not broadcast that, Velvet."  
  
"Oh, right, sorry," Velvet drops her voice low. "Listen, love, my brother was killed by Winter, so anyone who fights that family is more than welcome around here. You ever need a shoulder to cry on, just come by."  
  
"Uh... thank you," I nod. Why are all the faunus I meet always so damn friendly? Velvet pats me again and stands up, hands on the table.  
  
"What about you two?"  
"The usual," both reply simultaneously. Wait, have you two been here before?  
  
"Once or twice," Sun says.  
"No, but Velvet and I used to drink together," Blake answers. Ah.  
Once again I'm stuck in a situation where everyone knows each other except me. It's always with the faunus, too.  
  
The three of them chat amicably. Velvet's other job is to run as a scout for the White Fang, and she works with Adam's cell, wanting to bring humans and faunus together against the SDC. Apparently she had a human boyfriend before he was killed during one of the Fang's many raids against them, and she's been alone since. There's a running theme, here. Anytime they can, they make me participate in the conversation, letting me offer my own insights to the missions I've run. A few other faunus gather around us as I recount my battle with Weiss. I make it sound more dramatic than it really was, of course.  
  
"So she had to run before she could kill you?"  
"You fought a Schnee to a draw. I know that doesn't sound like much, but few can claim that!"  
"She's so young, but so brave."  
  
You get the idea. At any rate, soon enough Velvet brings me food, and I eat quietly while Sun gets louder the more he gets to drink, which is funny because he has absolutely zero shame to begin with. Blake only gets mildly jealous when he starts hitting on Velvet. Aw, she likes him.  
  
"Don't ever tell him that," she pokes me in the side. "Don't need him getting any ideas," I realize by now she's never taken her arm off of me, in an effort to keep me comfortable.  
  
I look around the bar at all of the faunus here. Everyone is having a good time, sharing stories, playing bar games, laughing at Sun. A few come by to thank me for putting work in, which is... well, I don't like getting praise from strangers, but it's nice. Blake never leaves my side, making sure I eat properly, that I take in plenty of fluids, making sure my bandage isn't coming off. Like before when I was with her in Old Atlas, she comes across as... well...  
  
She reminds me of Mom.  
...god _damnit_.  
  
"Ruby?" Blake looks down at me. "Why are you crying?"  
"I just..." I use my cloak to wipe my face. "I... I just kinda... miss Mama, is all," I don't want to talk about it. I don't NEED to talk about it. Shut up. "I know Dad cares about me," Fuck. "...but sometimes I think he forgets to show it, and it just really upset me earlier when he went on about how the fight with Weiss went and he never asked me if I was even okay and..." Deep breaths, Ruby. "I never see him anymore except for work, and Yang is halfway across the planet, and-"  
  
"Come here, Ruby," Blake pulls me into a hug. "Let it out."  
It's not fair. Why is Blake being so kind to me? She's gone through so much worse but she's here for me and Dad  _isn't_. I don't understand. I know his work is important but he couldn't take an hour out of his life to ask if I was okay? Why is it every time we hug I'm the one who has to initiate it? He never does this with Yang.  
  
Sun is drunk as hell and reeks of liquor but he's beside me, too. No one can see my face, just me leaning against Blake as she holds me, but it's like he knows something's wrong. This is hurting my already hurt eye. This sucks. Everything sucks. I can't remember the last time me and Dad and Yang went out together and did, like... family things. Everything about our lives is devoted to fighting the Schnee. It's all so stupid.  
  
Come on, Ruby, pull yourself together. You're being embarrassing. Chin up, girl, come on.  
It's okay to cry when you're upset. Mom told me that. It's okay to cry because you're sad, or angry, or because sometimes you just can't keep it in, anymore.  
  
But I can't. I'm a runner. I can't be weepy and stuff. I've got to be strong. I've got nothing else.  
  
...I wonder if Weiss cries sometimes when she's all alone.

Is that why she kissed me? Is she lonely? She doesn't really have anyone, does she?  
  
A rose petal flutters from my cloak and lands on the bar.

* * *

 

A few days later, once we're able to sneak back into Atlas, I'm once again in school. Surprisingly, having missed like a month of school, I'm in a lot of trouble. Thanks to Blake and Sun, my homework has been kept caught up, even though I really have no idea what's going on anymore, so they didn't send the SDC anti-truancy death machines after me or whatever they are. Blake promised to teach me later. I'm going to hold her to that. Speaking of which, Sun has now moved into my apartmet, meaning that the small studio now has three residents. We're talking about moving.  
  
Weiss has been scarce. She's called me like once. She can't spy on us anymore thanks to Blake's encryption, and boy was she mad about that. I think it's hilarious, so she can fuck off. I'm still mad at her anyway. She gave me a scar. I mean, I guess it's pretty cool - it runs from my forehead, across my eyelid, down to my cheek. It's almost a complete match for Weiss's, according to her. I'm pretty sure that was intentional. She said something about how she's "marked" me now, and anyone who's smart will know I'm HER employee.  
  
Fucking weirdo.  
  
I do my best job pretending to pay attention in class. There's an SDC police officer here, talking to us about inappropriate uses of Dust. Apparently Dust has negative effects on your brain if you inhale too much of it. I would think that's obvious since some of that stuff literally explodes, or freezes, or turns into lightning, but apparently people are dumb, because the new trend in the Barrens has been tearing apart anything that has Dust in it - which is like almost every electronic or mechanical device on the planet - and grinding up the crystals to powder and snorting it like cocaine. It makes you high as a kite and completely messes with your mental balance.  
  
Wait.  
I wonder...  
  
Discreetly pulling out my scroll, I fire off a message without taking my eyes off of the front of the class. In an absolutely unsurprising turn of events, I get a reply in about ten seconds. I lean back in my desk and pretend to be very interested in the lecture. As soon as he turns his back to write something on the board, I look down.  
  
_Not intentionally. I'm not a degenerate. But yes, I have inhaled a lot of Dust over the years. Why?_  
  
I pocket the scroll as he turns back around and reply quietly. Yes, I know, I shouldn't be texting her. I should be ignoring her existence. But I'm curious, now. Besides, I can't avoid her forever. Sooner or later she's going to contact me again for some purpose. I'm stuck with Weiss over my shoulder for the long haul, at least until I get good enough to take her down. Anyway, it only takes a moment because I'm pretty sure Weiss has no life.  
  
_I don't want to talk about it._  
  
Okay. That's new. Weiss can't shut up about herself, normally. I reply and continue pretending to listen since he's moved onto how to identify Dust-fiends. I'm pretty sure I'm dealing with one right now. Again, she responds in short time.  
  
_Do you still hate me?_  
  
What. Of all the... THIS is what she's worried about? Weiss just absolutely WRECKED me and she wants to know if I still hate her? Of COURSE I do! I absolutely despise-  
  
Oh, who the hell am I kidding? Even if I did, what am I going to do? Weiss can defeat me without even trying. I'm little more than an obstacle. I don't HATE Weiss. I just want to understand. I've come to the realization that I don't understand a lot in this world. I don't understand why Blake feels more like family to me than Dad does. I don't understand why Weiss keeps trying to be my friend despite me wanting nothing to do with her. I don't understand why Pyrrha ran away. None of this makes sense.  
  
_Please don't hate me._  
  
Oh for the love of-  
  
Sometimes I wonder if there are two different people. There's the cold calculating Weiss who has plans for me, and then there's this thing here that just wants to be my friend. She realizes that can't be a thing, right? Why does she want to be MY friend anyway? Doesn't she have, like, rich-people friends?  
  
_I'm sorry about last night, but I had to teach you a lesson._  
  
Now she's apologizing. Of course she is.  
  
_Can I make it up to you?_  
  
What. I've given up trying to be discreet. Weiss texts too quickly, so I just set the scroll on my desk. I doubt there's anything she can do to make it up to me, whatever that means.  
  
_I can get you a new Scythe._  
  
...well. Shit. That's a... that's a thing. I can't say I'm not interested, but... ugh...  
  
_Actually, if you're up for it, I have a mission for you. Sort of._  
  
Ah, here we go. Everything is comfortable again. She just needs me for something. I send her a message to spare the details for later because talking about runner work in school is less than appropriate.  
  
"Miss Xiao Long!"  
Uh oh. I cringe and look up at the teacher and the SDC officer, both of which look rather angry at me. Damnit, normally they don't care what I do. "Just what do you think you're doing?"  
  
"Ah... um... talking to a friend of mine?" I offer meekly. The police guy walks up to me.  
"Hand it over," he says. "How a kid your age even has a scroll is beyond me, but I can make assumptions. Now give it here."  
  
"But I need it!" I clutch the scroll, hiding the fact that I'm texting another message. Delete records, heat has my device. "This scroll has a lot of important information in it!"  
  
"I'm sure," he snatches the scroll from me, walking back to the front of class. "We'll talk about your acquisition of electronics you can't possibly afford after class and-" he stares at my scroll as it starts to vibrate, and I thunk my head on the desk. She cannot possibly be calling now, can she? Don't do that, Weiss, you'll blow my cover. On second thought, that's exactly what she'd do. She thinks me going to school is stupid anyway. "This can't be right."  
  
The officer answers the scroll. I have no idea what Weiss is saying, but everyone can see his face go from red in anger to white in pure terror, and he quietly walks over and sets the scroll down on my desk, walking away. In fact, he just leaves the room altogether. I look around and see everyone staring at me.  
  
I gingerly pick up the scroll.  
  
_"Thank me later,"_  is all she says. Then she laughs.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby and Weiss take a trip to Vale.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew. Okay. There are two things I need to address.  
> First, this will be the second chapter where things get a bit... dark. Specifically, you'll be learning a lot about Weiss's history in this universe, and it's not a happy one, which you've probably already guessed. But I just want to inform you ahead of time.
> 
> Secondly, I was left a review about the writing style, and it's a valid complaint. I've gotten similar reviews already here, as well as on ff.net, so I think I'll address the confusion of the writing style here.
> 
> The short version: It's supposed to be confusing.
> 
> The long version: Ruby is telling this story. We're just along for the ride. Ruby didn't quite learn how to properly structure a paragraph, and she sometimes forgets to make a paragraph break when introducing a new speaker. She also forgets to quote herself from time to time.
> 
> The meta version: So a long, long time ago, I read a light novel series called The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Some of you might recognize the anime adaptation of that. In that story, the lead character, Kyon, does something similar with dialogue, and the anime also plays on that by sometimes having his mouth on screen so you can't tell if he's thinking or speaking unless someone responds to him, since the voice actor keeps his "thinking" tone and "speaking" tone identical.
> 
> I actually know how to write a story properly. Soon, there will be a chapter taking place from Weiss's point of view, and as you'll see, other than her own quirks as well as my own, it's actually structured properly. So if you sometimes get lost... then, well, that's fine, because you're supposed to sometimes.

 

* * *

"So,  _why_  do I have to do this?" I tug at the white turtleneck I'm wearing. "And why do I have to wear  _YOUR_  clothes?" I like denim and all, but these are skinny jeans and I'm  _not_  a fan.

I look out of my window towards the ground below. We're in a private airship and we've just passed into Vale territory. Like Atlas, the capital city of Vale is also called Vale. People back in the day were super creative. The most notable things about this city that set it apart from Atlas is the Beacon Academy just outside of its limits.

Beacon Academy used to be a place where warriors trained to fight the Grimm and any who would threaten the peace and stability of Vale. These people were called Hunters or Huntresses, and they basically did what was right, operating outside the law if necessary, kinda like runners do now. And, just like runners, some turn bad, or mercenary, or whatever. Just about everyone has a Hunter in their family tree, including myself. I looked it up one day and was surprised to find out that my namesake was a pretty big deal back in the day, being one of the best Huntresses basically ever as well as being one of the last. She came to a tragic end: her and her husband died killing the last big concentration of Grimm in Mistral, leaving behind three children to be raised by family and friends.

I haven't found much about my great-times-something grandfather. He was a Hunter of note, I gathered that much, but he apparently didn't want his name recorded in the annals of history due to a personal failing. What little I found out suggests that he lost a loved one - some distant ancestor of Pyrrha's, actually - and was so broken up about it that he never really got over it. I really hope the first Ruby Rose wasn't just a rebound chick because that would be totally unfair.

There are some other things about my family history that are almost too coincidental to be true, and if I didn't know better I'd swear they were faked. I haven't brought it up to the others involved because it's honestly kind of weird. The long and short of it is that everyone in life I know has an ancestor that interacted with mine directly.

Consider the girl across from me as she considers what she's about to tell me. Weiss actually has several Huntresses in her family history. One of them was on the same team as my own, and apparently they got along great. One of Blake's ancestors was ALSO on the same team, and so was Yang's. Yang I can sort of understand because Mom's family and Dad's family have a kinship going back centuries, and that family history is part of the reason he adopted me after Mom died. Blake's family never really interacted with mine after that time period till now, and the Schnee family... well, you've seen what I have.

Speaking of which, it looks like Weiss finally found her voice.

"You're coming with me because I need to look at normal as possible," she explains, leaning close and keeping her voice down. "We'll be sitting in on a meeting between several Corporations regarding the disputes between my company and EmeraldTech. I know you've been paying attention to the news," Right. EmeraldTech private military and SDC goons have been fighting over the island of Vytal for quite a few months now. "So we're there to help mediate. There's another runner with us," she rolls her eyes to the side at the black-haired guy staring out of the window. "But I don't really trust him."

"That doesn't explain why I'm here."  
"Honestly, I just wanted a friend here," Weiss admits. "Is... that okay?"  
I roll my eyes. "Sure, whatever. You are giving me what you promised, right?"  
"Of course," Weiss nods. "It's in the overhead. Try not to let it out, because your cover is that of a normal teenager. I even got your school to sign off on this as a field trip for you," Uh, okay.

"So why don't you trust him?" I jerk my head over.  
"Because he's a drunk and lazy. And old," Weiss replies. "He's kind of a scumbag. You should know him, though."  
"Why?"  
"He's part of your family."

Oh. OH. I get it now. That must be Qrow Branwen, Dad's brother-in-law. "Should I go say hi?"  
"It probably couldn't hurt. But remember," she cups her hands. "He doesn't know about your night job. I haven't told him you're a runner and he doesn't seem to know otherwise."

Sure, why not? I get up and walk across the airbus towards the surly guy at the opposite end with a black case in the seat next to him, putting on my best innocent teenage girl impression. "E-excuse me, sir?" He's wearing a standard SDC uniform, but he has a short grey and red cape attached. That's... kind of like me, in a weird way.

The man slowly turns to look at me, and as he exhales I can smell the whiskey on his breath. "Who...  _Summer_?"

Eh. "N-no, sir. I'm her daughter. Ruby?" Qrow stands up and holy moly he's tall. His eyes are a darker shade of the red that Yang's gets when she's mad.

"Ruby Rose..." he looks down at me, and I see something that resembles a smile creep onto his face. "I can't believe it. Last I saw, you were just a toddler. You could pass yourself off as Summer."

"Yes, so I've been told. Weiss said you were a part of my family?"  
"Well, not quite, but close enough. How is your mom doing, anyway?"

...damn. This is going to be awkward. "S-she's gone, sir. Mom died a few years ago," you can almost hear his heart shatter into a million pieces.

"I-I'm sorry," he blinks. "I didn't know."  
"It's okay, sir. You work for Weiss, and she's very busy. Besides, my Dad is really cool! He adopted me and got me a place of my own! He's your brother, he said. Taiyang Xiao Long?"

"Tai," Qrow sits back down, shaking his head. "That old devil. Whatever he's doing, it must be right. Look at you! You've grown up so fast. I couldn't imagine you'd be breathing the same air as a Schnee."

"Well, life just takes you strange places, I guess," I smile. It's fake as hell, but it seems to put him more at ease.  
"How'd you get that scar?" he asks, gesturing.  
"Ah, gang stuff," I lie. "The Barrens aren't any better now than they were back then. I was walking home and got caught in the middle. I got lucky, I guess."

"Yeah..." He looks kinda sad, I guess it's about Mom. "Ruby, I knew Summer really well," Yep, about Mom. "Known her since we were both growing up on the streets. If you ever need to talk, just ask your friend for my number."

"Okay," I nod politely. "What do you do for Weiss, anyway?"  
"Oh, just bodyguard work," he says smoothly. Here comes his lie now. "The Schnee family has a bounty on its head from the White Fang, so I'm here to make sure that doesn't happen," Oh, score, I can figure some stuff out.

"H-how do you do that, sir?"  
He pats the case next to him. "In this case is a Nanotech weapon I call Harbinger Two. It's a combination weapon. You know that Grim Reaper woman everyone talks about?" Duh. I nod my head like I'm an idiot. "Well, I use the same kind as her. Don't know if she's copying me or what, but we fight similarly."

"Ah. I see," I nod again.  
"Ruby! We're about to land!" Weiss calls out.  
"That's my cue, I should go," I put on another fake smile. "If you don't mind, I would like to talk to you again... about Mom. And stuff."

"...yeah. I'd like that, kid," Qrow gives me a sad smile. "Go sit down."

I return to my seat, staring as Qrow looks back out the window. Something about him is weird. Can't place my finger on it.

"Don't crush on my other bodyguard, Ruby."  
"Weiss! Ew!"

She laughs at me, but my thoughts are already wandering. Qrow says he also uses a Scythe, making him the only other wielder of such a weapon in Atlas as far as I know. This presents a lot of interesting questions I'm going to cram into Dad's ears next time we meet.

* * *

**Digital Revolution  
** **Chapter Six: DNA**

* * *

We land just outside the city limits at Vale International Airport. Like Atlas, Vale is a massive, sprawling city that runs from the cliffs underneath Beacon along the coastline for several kilometers, composed of several districts that more or less radiate outward in income level. You have the rich in the middle, the middle class further out, and Vale's own version of the Barrens at the edge of the city. A commercial district runs for quite a bit of coastline, as well as various content creators. Most entertainment comes from Vale, as do most technological innovations. It's a very creative city overall.

It's also not as tall as Atlas, if that makes sense. The tallest building here is only half the size of the SDC tower, but to make up for it the EmeraldTech complex is much wider overall, so they've got that going for them.

Weiss and I load up into a private car set aside for us while Qrow just fucking vanishes I don't even know where he went. "See? I told you he's not trustworthy," Weiss says, pretending to be all wise and whatnot. I sit across from her in the car as it pulls onto the road. "See, isn't this nice?" I can think of better things to do, but at least the sun is out, so that's cool. "Vale has excellent weather year-round. If we weren't based in Atlas, I would like to be here instead," I mean, you could just move and not bother me anymore. Weiss frowns for a moment but lets it go.

...okay, maybe that was a bit rude. But I'm still not happy about this arrangement! Also, don't forget she almost cut my eye out! So yeah, I'm still a little angry. I bite my tongue and look out of the window as the city of Vale passes us by. I can feel Weiss staring at me, see her grab uselessly at her skirt out of the corner of my eye. She's really serious about this whole befriending me thing, isn't she? I'm sorry, I just... I can't. I keep saying it, but she's really crazy. Even if all she was consisted of those rapid mood swings of hers, it would still be near-impossible.

I glance over at her. Weiss looks away. See? Okay, maybe I really did hurt her feelings, but allow me to just be suspicious for a second. I'm not convinced she's just not trying to mess with me. A Schnee always has a plan. It might not make any sense, especially coming from Weiss, but it's a plan. She hasn't clued me in on it yet, but I asked Blake and she suggested that maybe if go along on this... whatever this kind of mission is... she might open up to me more. Blake is as curious as her cat nature allows her to be.

So curious, in fact, that I'm pretty sure she has eyes on me. Blake promised I wouldn't be going into this alone. Last I checked, though, she was hooked up to her computer and running some sort of network analysis. So who could be watching me from a closer perspective? I look back out the window, considering. Could be anyone, couldn't it?

"Ruby?" Weiss says suddenly. "We have time before the meeting. Would you like something to eat?" Uh, sure, I guess. "Driver! My friend and I are hungry. Take us somewhere nice."

"Yes, ma'am," the driver answers.  
"Is that safe?" I wonder. Weiss grins.  
"Between you and I, is there anywhere not safe?"  
"Yeah, the space between us," I huff.  
"Wow, Ruby, listen to you," Weiss grins. "Planning on doing something... untoward... to me?"

WHAT NO!  _Omygod_. I blush and look away from her. Why would she even THINK that?! I mean, yeah, she's cute, and I do have a tendency of wandering my eyes on the nearest cute thing, but STILL. I don't do crazy, and Weiss is the epitome of crazy. I think. I look back at her and her face is flushed: ha, I think even she got embarrassed about her own joke.

Besides. She kissed me first. Doesn't that make HER the pervert? I bite my tongue to keep from making fun of her and just look. What is she, really? I relax into my seat a bit and just... stare at her for a moment. Slowly, she looks back at me, ice-blue eyes blinking slowly. There's something... well, Weiss has always been a bit "off", but now that I'm really looking at her, what is it that bothers me? She always looks so... I hesitate to say "perfect", because no one is perfect. She always looks composed. Even during our fight, she looked composed. It was always her tone of voice that was weird, not the way she looked at me.

But there's something there. I look her over discreetly as I can. She looks away, but only slightly. Maybe it's the ponytail? It's always a bit sideways, not straight back; a bit of imperfection in an otherwise carefully maintained image. She doesn't wear a lot of makeup, but she has some eyeliner and lip gloss. I start chewing on the inside of my lip.

Look. I'd be lying if I didn't say those lips are soft. I think maybe if she hadn't just been trying to kill me I would've been for that when she kissed me. I'm not good at reading people, but it seems awfully contradictory to how she's been treating me until now. I'm not convinced she wasn't just messing with me, but... she started crying after. It seemed pretty genuine. "You okay?"

"Hm? Yeah," Weiss closes her eyes. "If you must stare, just... get it over with."

"You're not offended?"  
"I'm a Schnee. Getting stared at comes with the name," she opens her eyes and glances at me. That feeling that something is fundamentally wrong with her envelops me again. Not just that she's nuts, but that there's an underlying reason for it.

The car stops at a... well, I guess a 'nice place'? I don't know anything about high-end eating. I follow Weiss inside the place, unconsciously reaching for a weapon that doesn't currently exist. How she's able to walk around so freely without her rapier is beyond me. At least give me a pistol, or a collapsible sword, SOMETHING.

Ugh, I just realized I HAVE a collapsible sword. In my apartment, under my pillow. I'm actually  _this_  stupid.

We're seated at a table towards the back, away from any windows. She's at least smart enough that people can't get an easy shot on her. She orders for us because I have no idea what's good here, which I'm actually kind of thankful for, I guess. Man, I just CAN'T get a good read on her. This is the most time I've ever spent in close proximity to Weiss outside of trying to kill each other, and I really can't wrap my head around it. She's just... so odd.

"You know what I like about this place?" she asks me suddenly. No, not really. "It's nice and quiet. Out of the way. You can talk about a lot of things here," ah, I get it. Rich people seem to have places like this in abundance. "That we do. Never know when you need to talk about something... off the record," She motions for me to get closer, so I do, pulling my chair with me as I sit next to her. Weiss leans in close and hold on too close back up a bit. She pouts but backs up LITERALLY a bit. This person I  _swear_.

"We're only going to be in Vale for a couple of nights," she continues, pausing only to accept a cup of coffee from the waiter. "While we're here, I want you to do a little bit of... shopping for me," Ah, thievery. "There's a book up in the old Beacon Academy I want you to... procure," she opens her scroll and shows me a picture of a leather-bound book with odd writing across its cover. "Memorize it. The book is written in Old Faunus, a language native to Menagerie during the days of Hunters. It's rough translation is 'The History of The Last Great War' or some other drivel," she rolls her eyes for effect. "It's the only one of its kind remaining. The others have been systematically destroyed over the past dozen generations or so."

"Why's that?" She has my curiosity now. Anything the Corps hate must be a good thing.  
"I have a few guesses," Weiss replies. She smirks. "What those guesses are will need to wait until I get this book," I click my tongue and frown at her.

"Can you even READ Old Faunus?" I ask her.  
"Not a word, but I know some people who can. A dead language still has its scholars," she tells me lightly.

"Alright, fine," I lean away from her. "I get that helping you do this will get me a weapon, but I'm curious now."

"As I expected you would be," Weiss says, her eyes narrowing in amusement.  
"Right. I want to know what you know about the book, when I give it to you."

"Oh, don't worry Ruby, I'll definitely let you know more," Weiss answers. "...there IS one thing I can show you about it," she retrieves her scroll and flips to a different image. "This image I'm about to show you is older than the Internet. It's a picture of the book's interior. You won't recognize the language, but I think you'll find the person in this picture VERY interesting."

Okay, let me see it. I take the scroll from her. What do we have-  
What.  
...  _WHAT_?

Let me explain to you what I'm seeing here. It's blurry because of how old the image is, but if you had told me someone had taken a snapshot of me, I would have believed you. She has my small build. Her hair has more red in it than mine, but it's the same bobcut. Her eyes are the same gray as mine. The clothing is a much older style, but the scythe she's carrying is a dead ringer for Crescent Rose. It must be windy as well, because there are rose petals floating around her.

It's like looking into a mirror.

There's no doubt. The girl in the picture is my namesake - Ruby Rose, the Huntress. I look up at Weiss, then back down at her. How is this even possible?

I almost want to reach out and touch her.  
She's posing for this photo. She's smiling in it, but... I have that same fake smile. Her eyes are so sad, like she's carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. Maybe she was at the time. The war against the Grimm isn't a really well-covered topic in school. I send the photo to my own scroll and hand Weiss's back to her. Similarities I can deal with; I mean, look at any Schnee family history and they've basically looked the same for the past couple of centuries - the same skinny bodies, white hair, blue eyes, and so on. It's largely assumed that they're the product of some genetic tampering.

But... I'm from a family in one of Atlas's poor districts. We don't have access to that kind of technology. Sure, there's a CHANCE I'll share some characteristics from my genetics, but to be almost exactly the same?

"Do you see why I've been so interested in you now?" Weiss asks me, her voice quiet. "For whatever reason, you look just like her. I think it's part of something far larger than either me or you. I'm going to find out, Ruby, and I'm dragging you along, whether you want to or not."

Crazy. She's absolutely crazy.  
I think.

Okay. Fine. I want this book. I look at Weiss. "I'll do it," I tell her. "I want to see it."  
Weiss claps her hands together and smiles. A couple of plates are presented to us, and we fall into silence to eat.

This is getting weirder by the minute.

...I need to see this through, don't I?  
Aw,  _man_.

* * *

"Hey, Schnee!"  
"Vasilias," Weiss curtsies appropriately. I just stand there because no. The guy in front of us is handsome enough, and he's rocking the blue hair, but he has the stink of the ultra-rich about him. Not the nutty kind like Weiss, but the "I'm actually better than you in every way" kind. He walks forward and gets on one knee, taking Weiss's hand and kissing it. She actually looks annoyed, which yeah I definitely would be. "Still think you're quite the charmer, I see."

"Hey, with looks like that, how could I not?" smiles the older boy. His eyes tear from Weiss to me. "Hello, what do we have here?" he slides smoothly over to me. "What's your name, little lady?"

"Her name is Ruby and she's too young for you," Weiss steps in. Hey, I can defend myself! "So keep your wandering hands off of her, Neptune."

"Hey, you know what they say about grass and fields," he shrugs. I look at Weiss as she rolls her eyes. "But hey, good on you for finally making some friends, Schnee. Finally joining the big kids club?" He jerks a thumb over his shoulder at the gaggle of girls waiting for him at a nearby couch.

"Please, all of your friends are as dumb and shallow as you are," Weiss scoffs. "Ruby is a true friend," Uh, no I'm not  _ow my foot_.

"Well, whatever. If you wanna come play with the cool kids, we'll be over here," he turns and waves us off. I look over at Weiss, confused.

"Neptune Vasilias, heir to Emerald Tech," she explains. She looks over at a young woman talking quietly with another group of girls. "Ilia Amitola, adopted daughter of Menagerie Biomed. She's a faunus, but she hides it well," another look at a different girl with shoulder-length wavy orange hair. "Penny Polendina of Nanotech Weapons. Four heirs for four MegaCorps. All of them here have a stake in the Vytal Island dispute."

"So this is why you aren't giving me the weapon," I whisper.  
"Yeah. You'd kill them all. Well, maybe not Penny."  
"Why not?"  
"She's a robot."

What.  
"I'll explain later," Weiss pulls me to a corner of the room. "During the meeting, you'll be stuck in here with their friends. This is a chance for you to interact with people within the inner circles of MegaCorps. This is my gift to you, Ruby. Find out what you can. This is the kind of thing your kind live for."

The door to the waiting room opens, and a small woman with black twintails stares at us. "That's our cue," Weiss takes my hand. "Remember your cover." Yeah, sure. She leaves with the other three heirs, Neptune smacking my bottom as he walks by me. You motherfu-

Oh, he also did it to Weiss. That glare could melt spidersilk armor. The twintailed girl winks at me and hands me a folded sheet of paper before walking in front of the others and leading them to wherever this supposed meeting is taking place. I really want to follow, but use of Semblance here is probably a bad idea. I walk over to one of the chairs and sit down, unfolding the paper.

_Belladonna paid a lot of money for me to keep a good eye on you. Try to stay out of trouble. - N._

Ah, the icecream spore.  
Er, sorry. Neopolitan - I'm fairly certain that's not her real name - is Roman Torchwick's SOMETHING - daughter or sister or niece or sex toy, I don't know. Torchwick is a low-level con man who plays both our side and the SDC for a big payout. Money is his driving factor, and it's also Neo's. When she's on your side, which is rare, she's good in a fight and sneaky. Her Semblance is some illusion bullshit that makes it impossible to keep track of her, and she has this ability to disguise herself effortlessly.

But if someone gives her a better offer, she'll swap sides like it's nothing - more than once she's betrayed us because the SDC threw a huge pile of money at her. We don't associate with her normally anymore, but elements of the White Fang still do. I know she and Blake keep some sort of correspondence, but I don't know what it is. Apparently it's enough to do this. I shudder to think about how much money Blake had to spend for Neo's loyalty this time round.

Anyway, I look over as the people in the room gather around a couch with a television. I don't recognize any of these people, but they all have the same uppity better-than-you look that Neptune had before. They SMELL rich, and I suddenly understand why Weiss forced me into the airship's shower before we even took off. There's a certain style and way you carry yourself when you're part of the elite, and I definitely am not like that. Despite myself, I lean onto a nearby table and listen in.

"Did you hear about Atlas?"  
"Them again? Still having problems with the poor?"  
"Always. It's so stupid. Why don't they just round them up and shoot them? That's what we did in Vacuo after the last White Fang rebellion."

"I think it might be too late for that. They have that woman fighting on behalf of the poor," ooh, they're talking about me.

"Oh, please, the 'Grim Reaper'? What a joke. Our men in Menagerie could end her," hold on, what.  
"Same with our guys in Vacuo."  
"Ha! Your men in Vacuo couldn't stop that runner when she marched through."  
"They did a good number on her!"  
"Shooting her just pissed her off or did you not watch the news reels?"

Ah, Yang. I saw those news reels by the way. She basically treated Vacuo droids like aluminum cans. Having a Semblance that just charges her up the more she gets hit makes things difficult for people.

"The point is, that Grim Reaper is nothing! What a waste of resources! A good bullet would put her down!"

Okay. I stand up. This is enough. Remember your cover. "The Grim Reaper is a lot stronger than you realize," I begin. "She moves faster than our droids can track."

"And just who the hell are you?"  
"I'm Weiss's friend."

"Ha! Schnees don't have friends, they have TOOLS."  
"Well, Weiss is MY friend, so you can just fuck right off."

One of the girls rolls her eyes. "If you think that crazy bitch sees you as anything more than a tool, you're sorely mistaken."

"Weiss isn't crazy," I defend.  
"She got Dust tattooed to her and suffers from Dust Exposure. She's nutty as a fruitcake."

Oh...  _really_...  
"She's not THAT far gone," I continue. "It's mostly just a defense mechanism!"  
"It doesn't change the fact that no one has ever thought of that before and it's got to be affecting her brain."

"It works for her," I say. "She fought the Grim Reaper and is still alive to talk about it, isn't she?"  
"Whatever."

Ugh. These people. I make an annoyed face and return to my seat. I'm quickly forgotten about as they discuss what they hate the most about their respective hometowns. Predictably, the poor are seen as little more than stains on their shoes, but they don't really dwell on my people. It's more such trivial things like why they have to attend THIS private school over THAT one and why Daddy didn't get them the newest scroll or why they need to fire that one maid because she missed a spot. I don't know what Weiss was expecting me to hear in this room, but the most interesting thing I got was the fact she's got tattoos.

Ah, well.

* * *

"So did you get anything?"  
"Something. What about you?"  
"Well, I managed to convince Neptune that his idea was stupid."  
"What was that?"  
"He thinks we should just wipe out all the natives and split Vytal into four pieces."

Wait. You were against killing innocents? "I'm not a monster, Ruby. The people of Vytal haven't struck against us or any other company and just wish to be left in peace," We follow Neo towards the exit. She looks over her shoulder to grin at me but otherwise doesn't acknowledge my existence. "Unlike your people, who rebel against us at every turn," Weiss looks at me. "What did you learn?"

I point at her. "Dust tattoos."  
"...oh," Weiss looks down. "Well, I guess I couldn't keep it a secret from you forever."  
"What are Dust tattoos?"

Weiss looks around. "Come here," she pulls me into a bathroom. "Stay here, escort," Neo just nods silently. Weiss locks the bathroom door. What are you WAIT WHY ARE YOU TAKING YOUR JACKET OFF?! "I was your age when the R&D division discovered you could apply Dust directly to the body to augment your Aura," Weiss explains as she turns her back to me. She pulls her shirt up over her head, setting it down on the sink next to her jacket. On her back is a large tattoo that resembles her Glyph, ice blue Dust embedded within. She turns to face me, and there's similar tattoos on her chest and arms, albeit much smaller.

"Why?" I ask.  
"Because I was told to," she replies, her eyes locking with mine. "These empower me to be much stronger than what I would be without them. Fire on my chest, ice on my back, lightning in my arms. These are the gifts given to me by my father, to make me the best warrior the entire family has ever seen. This is what makes me better than you. More than Cyberware, these Dust tattoos push me past my limits."

"They're making you insane, aren't they?" I ask her. Weiss smirks.  
"Yeah, they are. And one day, it will be too much for my brain to handle. I'll eventually slip into a coma and die. The energy from Dust was never meant to be used by humans in this manner. So you'll get your wish one day, Ruby," she smiles at me, but I can find no enjoyment in learning this information. Besides, that smile seems so genuinely broken I would be the monster for taking pleasure from it.

For the first time, I feel sympathy for Weiss. I put a hand on her bare shoulder. "I... I'm sorry."  
"Don't be," she says. She grabs my hand but doesn't let go. "I could have said no."

"Could you?"  
"..." There's a flash in Weiss's eyes, but I see it. It's a look of pain. "...no."

* * *

Beacon Academy. The tower on the hill. A shining... well, beacon, representing the hopes and dreams of generations past. Nowadays, it's a museum, dedicated to a time much more innocent than this. Photos, statues, old weapons, articles, the works. There's enough history there for anyone who's interested to learn about Hunters and Huntresses. It's also one of the most secure facilities in Vale.

I adjust the cloak Weiss gave me, pulling its white hood up. The color doesn't really suit me, but neither does the rest of my clothes. I just don't look good in white. Also, Weiss's blouses are a bit TIGHT if you catch my meaning. The jacket that cuts off halfway down a is a bit weird, and I already told you how I feel about skinny jeans. This is kinda not my style.

Also, wearing white at night is just beginning to be seen. But it's better than wearing my normal type of clothing, so I'll go with it. I walk down the hill towards the back of the Academy. There's a less well-guarded back door here, only one unarmed guard hanging out. I figured that out while I was casing Beacon after the meeting.

There's a security camera pointed at the door, but I can move fast enough to not be seen by it. I pull the taser out of my cloak and walk up to the corner of the building, knocking on the wall a few times. The guard moves away from the door, and I take him down easily, swiping his keycard as I set him to the ground. I run up to the door, pop it open and use my Semblance to dash inside.

I'm in the old faculty rooms, now re-purposed to be a staff area for the museum. At this hour, there's only security, but none of them are back here and there are no cameras. I replace the battery in my taser and move across to one of the doors that lead out into the museum proper. I crack the door open and peer out. There's security to my right, staring towards the main tower, but none on my left. Weiss said the book would be in the old library, which is to the right. Getting over there is impossible from here, so I move left as soon as the guard walks away, ducking between cameras as I move into the halls of the next area.

Weiss's map of Beacon didn't tell me what this area is, but it's locked. I use the keycard to open the door and sneak inside. There might be a roundabout way to the library from here if this will take me to the tower, so this could be my best bet for now. I roam the hallways, with the only pauses being to wait for security cameras to turn away from me, and I read the signs telling me where to go. 'Library' with an arrow pointed backwards from where I came, 'Dining Hall' with an arrow pointed in an opposite direction, and so on. I might have to double back.

I come to a T intersection and head down the hallway with no cameras. Wonder what's down here. I peek into one of the rooms and see several beds. Ah, dorms then. I walk in and see that this room has been untouched for ages. Rooting around for anything interesting - I AM nosy after all - I find nothing and move on. The next few rooms are like this as well, a whole bunch of nothing. I come to a door towards the end and pop it open.

Well... okay, then. I tilt my head. What...?

Okay, so there's four beds in this room. Two of them look normal. One of them is propped up on the other with a stack of books, the other is HANGING FROM THE CEILING SUSPENDED BY ROPE. I shut the door behind me and look around. Who would live like this? This is... okay, that bed hanging is pretty awesome, but still. I investigate the room, using a flashlight since power to this area has been cut off for ages. The room is surprisingly well-maintained, unlike the others. Someone takes enough time to come in and wipe away the dust every so often, and I guess to make sure that one deathtrap hasn't snapped its supports.

I open one of the drawers and go through it. Nothing out of the ordinary: just clothes that are about a century out of date and-

I pull out a red hooded cloak. Huh. It's the same kind as that picture. I pull out my scroll and look at my ancestor again. Yeah, definitely the same. So this is her room, then? I wonder which bed was hers. I continue to look around. There are old Dust bullets on one of the desks. The Dust probably went inert ages ago, but they might be worth keeping, so I pocket them. The books holding up one of the beds are all written in Old Faunus, so no help there, and none of them match the title of the book I'm looking for. There are some old Dust vials on the floor that I almost trip over, a few shotgun shells laying about. Nothing too terribly interesting. What am I even looking for in here?

I find a few picture frames on one of the beds, probably set aside so they wouldn't be exposed to the light. They're still in decent condition, so I take a look at them.

There are four girls in the first picture. The first one is my namesake, the runt of the bunch, with her hood up. She's holding hands with a Schnee; you can tell the same way you can with all of them. Unlike Weiss, this one looks happy and not insane. Next to her is a faunus girl that looks a bit like Blake but with a big black bow over her cat ears, tying them down. The fourth girl looks a lot like Dad, all height and muscle with a biker's jacket over her uniform.

I take the picture out of the frame and flip it over. 'My newest family. I hope you're proud of me, Dad. - R.R.'

That's almost disgustingly sweet. The other four pictures are solos of each member of the group. Ruby the Huntress has left commentary on the back of each one. 'Really I should do something with my hair', 'Xiao Long always looks confident', 'The Belladonna girl looks so mysterious'.

I flip the picture of the Schnee girl over. 'I think I'm in love with her.' Complete with a little heart drawn.

I'm suddenly reminded of Weiss pushing me against the wall, kissing me. I wonder if they were ever anything other than friends.

I decide to keep the pictures. Better than leaving them to rot in here. There's really nothing else interesting here, so I turn to leave and-  _shit, footsteps_! I duck into the dorm's bathroom, jumping into the shower and pushing my back against the wall.

"Are you sure?" I hear someone ask.  
"I'm telling you, the silent alarm went off. Someone is in here."  
"We've gone through the entire east wing, there's no one here."  
"Let's just keep looking."

There are footsteps in the room now, peering around the dorm and looking for anyone out of place. Crap, I left those picture frames obviously empty! Oh man... they're walking towards the bathroom now.

I have an idea, and it's a bad one. But remember I said I'm garbage at stealth, right? I begin to charge my Semblance, make sure my hood is still up, and prepare to run for it. If they get closer...

"Hey! Someone found one of our guys outside! Come on!"

Phew. The two men leave the room. I wait till I can't hear their footsteps anymore, and run for it. I figure I have a few seconds before they realize that they have an intruder, so I need to make as much ground as I can get. I run out of the dorm and back towards the security door. It's still open, so I slip through, aim at the hallway across from me, and activate my Semblance.

Flying into the library like this, I'm noticed by basically everyone, which is fine because the intruder alert goes off at roughly the same time I start running. Why am I so BAD at stealth?! The scary part is that Yang is worse than me, but STILL.

I burst into the library in a flurry, rapidly bouncing between bookshelves to find what I want. No, it's not that easy. Weiss said the book would be protected somehow. Protected means either well-hidden or obvious, and if this book is the last of its kind, it could be both. If I were going to hide the last book of its kind, where would I hide it? Um, bookshelves are out, a display case is too. I would put it where no one would think to look, but where I would remember its hidden.

The door to the library bursts open. I dash behind some bookshelves, thinking. Okay, the book is written in Old Faunus, so... check the section of library written in the same? No, that wouldn't work. I sneak a peek around the room. All else here are some globes, tables, chairs, a tapestry of the world, some other knick knacks. Okay, the book was written by a faunus, probably, so.. the tapestry? I stare at it, looking at Menagerie in particular. What's behind that? I dash through the security, up to the second floor, putting myself behind the tapestry. It's a mirror image on the back. Damn, it'd be nice if the book was just hanging off the back.

Okay, um... how about... run around blindly crying? No, that wouldn't work. Think, Ruby, THINK. What else is up here? Another globe, a model of a sword and shield, more books. Maybe the sword? I run over and lift it from the wall. It's heavy and completely useless, so I toss it aside. I pick up the shield.

SUCCESS. It's hiding in a crook on the back of the shield. Why go to this many lengths just to hide a book is beyond me, but I'm fucking lucky. I hold onto the book as tightly as I can and make a break for it, dashing through the security and out the door I came in.

* * *

Good news: No one spotted me.  
Bad news: The city is on alert. I've been dodging cops for the past hour. I had to ditch the motorcycle Weiss loaned me.

What? I know how to drive. Mostly. Somewhat.

Okay. I ditched it because I crashed. What do you  _want_  from me?

I managed to go between alleyways towards the richer district of the city, where the Schnee manor is. Of course, like any rich family, they have a manor in every major city. This one is just as big as the others. Well, not as big as the one in Atlas, but big enough. I approach the manor quietly, using the cloak to hide the book in my arms. After waiting for the cops to move on to the next area, I jump over the fence with a bit of Semblance use, ghosting my way across the yard and... I hear weapons clashing.

Odd.

I walk around to the back of the manor. The "Backyard" if you can call it that is more of the Biggest Deck Ever with a pool and a lot of artificial grass surrounding it, along with a brick security wall on the outer edge that's supplemented by a low-visibility security system. It wouldn't stop an experienced runner, but it'd stop mid-level crooks. Trust me, I've been on the receiving end of that security.

Weiss has her back to the wall, rapier in hand, as that Neptune boy and some thugs have their weapons lifted at her. She doesn't look particularly bothered by this, so this must have been unsurprising for her. They're both saying something but I can't make it out. I doubt they could kill her, so I slink back to a window and pry it open, slipping inside. The window's security had been pre-unlocked for me in case I needed to go in this way, so it's fine. Promise.

Weiss's room. On the bed is an elongated box.  _'Your payment. You may leave after you leave me the book. Or you can stay. - W.S.'_

_'P.S. Please stay.'_

Ugh, this girl. I open the box. Inside is... a sword? I pick it up and give it a few swings. No, it's in a storage mode. There are four small buttons on the handle arranged in a diamond pattern, nestled to where you'd have to push them intentionally to make things work. I depress the bottom button.

Clockwork gears begin to spin, and I hear a snapping sound. A haft ejects out of the bottom of the sword handle as the blade itself splits into several segments, small metal pieces inside working to give the blade a curve. The segments open and a smaller red, curved blade spits out to merge with the steel. The haft bends in two places and a secondary handle pops open. The trigger moves, and the two barrels on the side angle themselves to face outward and upward, away from the scythe blade.

I walk away from Weiss's bed and give it a few good swings. The balance is off for someone my height and strength, but I can manage. I set the book down, take the cloak off of it, and wrap it around myself, clasping it effortlessly. Let's go scare some people. I slip back out the window and Semblance my way to the roof. Weiss and Neptune's conversation has shifted to opposing ends of the pool. Ice has formed in the water, tracing a line from him to Weiss, and she holds Myrtenaster up calmly as Neptune holds an electrified glaive in his hands.

This should be fun. I need to work out some stress. I fall off of the roof. Weiss and I lock eyes, and she grins.

I land in between Neptune's posse and swing the scythe, using the haft to trip everyone in a single swipe. Neptune turns around to face me, but I smack him with the flat of the blade and send him careening backwards towards the pool. He recovers remarkably quickly, but this is a kid who's clearly never been in a real fight before. I dodge his weak swing and trip him again, disarming him with the scythe blade - not literally - and steal his glaive as he falls into the pool, sliding on his back along the ice.

"You could have handled this," I stare at Weiss. She just shrugs, then points up.

I look back towards the roof. Qrow is standing there, arms crossed, staring down at us. I pull the hood over my head in response, but it's too late. He falls off of the roof, a sword coming off of his back, and I ready myself. Neptune's group scatters, leaving him on the ice, as I raise the scythe haft and block Qrow's attack. I twirl the scythe and strike, but Qrow dodges the attack with ease. I flick a button on the scythe and it collapses back into its storage form. Backing away, I hold the blade facing him as Weiss walks across the pool, pausing only to push Neptune off of the ice and into the water.

"That's enough," she says.  
"Was there a  _point_?"  
"I just wanted to see if you would come to my rescue," Weiss tells me.

Qrow looks between her and me. "Ruby... what are you doing?" I look up at the older man, and a flash of something I can't make out crosses his features. I lower the sword and pull the hood back.

"Doing what I do best, Qrow. Fighting," I reply.  
"But how...?"  
"Well, Dad always did have my best interests at heart."

Maybe that was a bit much. Qrow's face visibly darkens. "Tai..." he spits. "He promised me you would never get involved in his war. Promised he would never betray the trust Summer had in us."

"Mom died, and he trained me to defend myself and the people of the Barrens," I reply. "What about you? How does working for her," I jerk my head at Weiss, ignoring her protest. "Help keep me out of it?"

"You were never supposed to even be a blip on the Schnee's radar!" Qrow shouts unevenly. "Summer never wanted this life for you! You're far too important to be lost in this pointless conflict! Besides, what about you? You're here working for her, too."

"I don't have a choice!" I feel my anger rise. "If I don't help Weiss, she'll reveal to her company me and all of my friends! I'm not doing this for money! I'm doing it because I have to!"

"There was always a choice. Whatever Tai offered you wasn't worth this, Ruby."  
"It's worth it because it's the RIGHT thing to DO, Qrow!" Seriously, what's with this guy?  
"Summer wouldn't want this for you."

"Mom is dead!" I throw the sword down and march up to him. "You knew her! Where were you?!"  
"I was working! I tried to help the two of you!" Qrow glares at me. "Why didn't you go to anyone else?! Tai is dangerous!"

"Where was I supposed to go?! I had no one!" I push him. "Where were you?! You cared about Mom so much, why weren't you around?!"

"Ruby..." Weiss whispers. No. Shut  **up**!  
"W-well.. I'm here now," Qrow counters weakly. "Get out of this, Ruby. I'll take care of you. I promise."

"I don't need you now! I needed someone THEN!" Tears sting my eyes.  
"But Tai-"

"I WAS TEN WHEN THEY KILLED HER!"

Silence.

"Mom... was just trying to come home. She had to walk by a White Fang protest. The SDC," I shoot a glare towards Weiss. "They came and rounded everyone up. They shot them all! They shot my mother! They KILLED her because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time!"

"Ruby-"  
"NO! You don't get to tell me what I should have done!" I push him again. "You weren't there when they brought me to her! You weren't there when they put Mom in the ground! Dad was! Yang was! They took me in and YOU weren't around for any of it!"

"Tai is just using you!"  
"I DON'T CARE!" I'm crying now. Fuck this guy. "So what if he is?! At least there I'm USEFUL! I have somewhere to channel my anger! With them, I MEAN something! I can FIGHT!"

"Fighting for revenge is wrong, Ruby. You'll destroy yourself," Qrow has become toneless. "Don't let your mother's legacy be blood, Ruby."

"...You know what?  _FUCK YOU_."

I walk back to the sword and pick it up. I glare at him once more and dash away.

* * *

Somehow I found myself outside the city limits. I'm sitting at the beach, staring off at the moon. I don't know how late it is. I don't even know how I got here.

I had to get away from him. Who is he to talk? He's never been a part of my life before now, and once she shows up, he sees me swing a weapon around and suddenly goes all 'concerned parent' for me? What kind of drek is that? Whatever.

Someone sits next to me. "Go away, Weiss," I hug my knees and look away.  
"Why didn't you tell me? About your mother?"  
I snort. "Why would I?"  
There's a sound. "It explains why you hate me so much, I guess? I suppose if I saw the face of the people who took my Mom away, I'd hate them too."

"That's putting it lightly," I mumble. "Look, if you came here to talk, don't. I'm taking the next flight back to Atlas tomorrow. I need time alone."

"Then don't talk. Just listen," Weiss says quietly. Whatever. "A few years ago, my mom died. Alcohol poisoning. She took to drinking after Father made it clear he wasn't interested in anything but the company. Once he got Whitley and Winter, he was through with children. I... was an 'accident'. It's statistically improbable for me to have even been born, but nature decided otherwise. Dad was... furious. He was going to abandon me in the Barrens."

I look over at Weiss as she stares out towards the ocean. "Mom convinced him otherwise, but she had to sign away all of her control of the company over to him. There was no love lost between those two, despite being brought up so close together. They were both part of the main Schnee line, but Dad was always a bit more power hungry than Mom," ...wait, you mean... "Mom and Dad are siblings, Ruby. Well, were, I guess. So yes, I am a product of incest. Don't let that get out," she offers a weak smile. "That's been the case for... oh, about the past ten generations or so? Usually it's cousins, but my grandparents had no siblings of their own, either. That's why we all look the same. I was... slated to marry Whitley, actually."

That's kinda gross. "I wasn't a fan," she mutters. "Before myself, Whitley and Winter were going to handle the family line. I was to be made into a weapon. From a young age, I was trained and taught in all forms of combat, including Dust use and Aura Manipulation. But then, asi t turned out, Winter couldn't bear children, so the duty was to fall to myself. I overheard them arguing about it. Even if I was catatonic, I would be forced to bear Whitley's children."

I recant my earlier statement. That's absolutely disgusting. "Yes, but it was my fate. I hated every second of it. If Whitley were still alive, I would probably already be... pregnant. Now that he's gone..." she narrows her eyes, but stops talking.

"I... okay. Why are you telling me this?"  
"I know what Qrow said hurts, but in a way he's right," she continues. "If you father is really just using you for a purpose - whether that's just for his war against my family or anything else - don't let him. If you must fight my company, do it for you, not for him."

"I am fighting for me," I tell her.  
"Are you?" Weiss looks at me. "Even now, I come to you unarmed. If you decided to attack me, I wouldn't stop you. Not now. I've give you ample opportunity to run away. I even left you a note saying it was okay. Yet here you are."

"...I guess in many ways the drive is losing its... power," I finally say. "Or maybe I'm just confused. I don't know."

"I can make it easier, I think," Weiss offers. "You still hate the company, but you're not so sure about me anymore."

"...yeah, I guess that's fair."  
"So... can we be friends?"

I would fall over if I was standing. Really?! "Worth a shot," she mumbles. She stands. "The offer is there, if you want it," she begins walking away.

"Hey."  
"Hm?"  
"What did you mean a second ago? You mentioned that Whitley is dead, but..."  
"Oh," Weiss looks down. "Well... Whitley may be gone, but my father is still alive."

Oh... oh, GROSS. "Winter was born with a birth defect that doesn't allow for children. She is an nonviable candidate for an heir. It HAS to be me, or there will be no SDC," You hold an awful lot of loyalty to a company that you clearly don't like. "No, Ruby, unlike you, I love my company. I just hate my family. I'm really not that angry you killed Whitley, after all. Its your strikes against my company that I... detest."

She continues to walk, and I go to follow her. "If your company wasn't so garbage to people, it wouldn't be so bad. Look at Menagerie Biomed. They're the most honest of the MegaCorps. They're still shit, but they're not as shit as the SDC, not by a long shot."

"No, the Amitola family is good, but their shareholders are just as ruthless as ours are," she replies. "I think it's all related."

"Related to your... conspiracy?"  
"Yes," Weiss nods. "My family, and all of the other major Corporate families, are involved in something. Something big. Their oppression of the people has to have some sort of purpose. Your friend Nikos found out about it, I think; it's why she ran off."

"You think it's all related."  
"I KNOW it's all related. This is why I can't just leave the company, Ruby. Something much worse than simple oppression and fear tactics is as its core. If I can keep your people from attacking us on a regular basis, I can figure it out. I just need more information."

"Then we'll help each other," Weiss stops again and looks at me. "If what you're saying is true, that there is a much bigger conspiracy at the core of... all of this... then I need to find out. Dad is too single-minded on his purpose of destroying the SDC, but if you're right then destroying just them won't do a thing. It'll just get replaced by something else. I've helped you this far, so I'll help you further," I stick a hand out. "As... as a friend."

"You... you mean it?" Weiss's eyes widen.  
"...yes. I mean it."

Weiss takes my hand and shakes it, and she looks so HAPPY I just can't look at her directly. God, who am I getting into bed with? "Friends," she breathes. "Yes, friends."

"Come on, we'll go back to the manor. We don't know a word of Old Faunus but maybe the images in the book will tell us something."

Weiss nods, and together we begin walking back from the beach. In the distance I see someone with icecream colored hair watching us. Once I notice her, Neo bows and vanishes from sight. Weird girl.

I poke Weiss in the side. "You know, this will all be easier if you just admit you're hopelessly attracted to me. I know how to resist flirts."

"Hey! It's not like that," Weiss huffs.  
"Then why did you kiss me?"  
"I don't know!"  
"It's okay to like girls," I tease.

"I'm well aware," Weiss blushes. "I... I got carried away, that's all!"

Okay, that's pretty cute. Not gonna lie.

Yeah.  
I can make this work.

...I need to figure out how to get those tattoos off of her before they kill her.

What? If we're going to be friends, it's time to act the part.

* * *

It's really late. An old analog clock on the wall reveals that it's five in the morning. We're only halfway through the book.

Fortunately, Old Faunus uses the same letters Remnant's common language uses, and names aren't translated, so between the pictures and what we can pick out, Weiss and I have figured out some people, at least. The results so far, are... well, here, let me show you, because it's almost entirely unbelievable.

Ruby Rose.  
Weiss Schnee.  
Blake Belladonna.  
Yang Xiao Long.

These are the names for my namesake's team. One for one identical matches. Weiss's name makes sense, as it's a legacy name: she's in fact the fifth one after the girl in the book. The Schnee family has a habit of recycling the names of important people. Her sister is the sixth Winter, Whitley was the fifth, and their father Jacques is like the twentieth or something, as the firstborn son always has the name Jacques, with this one breaking the mold by naming the firstborn Whitley instead. So in Weiss's case, being named after her ancestor was supposed to be something of an honor.

Blake and Yang, though... that's harder to explain, if not downright impossible. We've shelved this for now, but both of us are convinced it can't be a coincidence. There are other names of note, specifically three that pop up a lot: Ozpin, Oscar Pine, and Salem. There's very little to go on here, since we're mostly working from Weiss's memory and what little you can find on the Internet. There's absolutely nothing about Salem, Ozpin was apparently Beacon's last headmaster, and Oscar Pine is known to be the founder of Emerald Tech, but little else is known past that.

The mysteries keep piling on. The images help, but not a lot. Our ancestors take up the majority of the pictures, and it's kinda striking to see how happy they could be when all were together. That note my namesake made of "having a new family" really seems to strike true, as they truly seem like one. Whether circumstance or fate brought them together, it did spectacularly.

"Ah, I wish I could read this," Weiss flips a page, scanning its contents. "Ah, here's another name: Tyrian. Write that one down," I do so, scrawling the name on a piece of paper. We're recording all the names we can find, but it's slow going. The pictures we've seen suggest that something bad happened at Beacon, and the team was split somehow, but we can't find much. The narrator of the book chose to follow my namesake, so there are a lot of pictures of her travelling with an entirely different group instead.

"You know what I'd like to do? We need someone to get into Emerald Tech," I mention. "Blake is a stealth specialist and a decker, she could do it."

"I'm not sure she'd be willing to handle a conspiracy," Weiss mentions. "Besides, she hates me."  
"She doesn't hate you, she just finds you extremely frustrating," I counter. "As I sometimes still do."  
"Point," Weiss shrugs, yawning. "We should probably stop. I need a shower."

"Yeah," I take the book and shut it, wrapping it in the white cloak and shoving it under Weiss's pillow. "Are you sure we're safe here?"

"Safe as we can be, but I would still sleep lightly," Weiss answers, setting her rapier point-down next to the side of the bed. "I've engaged the security system, but Neptune is still mad I thrashed him around."

"What was that all about anyway?"  
"He's just salty I undercut him about Vytal," Weiss replies, walking over to her dresser. "He'll get over it. Here," she pulls a nightgown out and throws it over her shoulder at me. "There's a guest room with a shower down the hall. Go wash up and get some sleep. We'll continue this tomorrow. I'm coming up with a plan."

Of course you are. I grab the nightgown and  _why are you stripping_. "What? We've gone over this," It's just odd that you're so... easygoing? No, that's not the word. "During my time in the Academy, there were no private showers. Everyone bathed in communal ones. The first thing you had to shed was your modesty. It was a 'team building' exercise. Given the copious amounts of security cameras, I'm inclined to think otherwise, but," she shrugs and pulls her shirt over her head. "I was just a child. Fortunately, that meant no one wanted to hover near the underage crazy girl."

She looks over her shoulder and smirks. "Being crazy has its benefits."  
"Yeah, I don't think that's healthy."

"Nope!" she turns to face me, leaning against the dresser. "What about you? You can't tell me you've never shared a shower with anyone," My thoughts turn back to Blake and Sun forcing me into the bathtub because, quote, 'You smell like a dirty hospital'. I blush.

"I-it wasn't... quite... like that."  
"Mm," Weiss reaches behind her and okay I'm not watching her get naked. I avert my eyes. "Ruby... I'm glad you've decided to work with me on this."

"Don't thank me just yet," I stare at the door. "Let's figure this out first. Besides, we might be friends, but I'm still not entirely sure I can trust you just yet."

"In time," Weiss says. "You will. Just like I trust you."  
"Don't be so certain," I yawn again because good God I'm tired. "You might find something out that necessitates we fight again. Besides, after this, we'll need to maintain cover. If I'm on a job for Dad and you're in my way..."

"We will fight, I'm aware," Weiss replies. "I won't try to kill you."  
"...I guess I won't either. Try to kill YOU, I mean," I rub my eyes. "Weiss, what the hell are we doing?"

"No idea, but it's certainly interesting."  
"You WOULD say that," I sigh. Weiss laughs again.  
"I'll be in the shower," she says, walking away. I stare at the Dust tattoo on her back as she walks away, mostly obscured by her hair. I wait till she shuts the door before I roll off of her bed and pull my scroll out, dialing a number. I walk out of her room, heading towards the guest bedroom and locking the door once I get it.

"Belladonna," Blake's voice says. "Ruby? Are you okay? Do you need help?"  
"I need you to do some research for me," I tell her. "Can you get into SDC's servers and find out everything they've got about Dust-woven tattoos?"

"Sure, why do you ask?"  
"They're all over Weiss's body. I want to find out how to remove them."  
"...wait, are you serious?"  
"Absolutely. It's why she's so strong and it has a lot to do why she's going insane."

"Well... alright. It'll take me a day if I'm careful. Is that okay?"  
"It's fine. I doubt she's going to break in that short amount of time."

There's a pause. "I'm guessing the two of you have come to an... understanding?"  
"I... yeah," I lean against the door. "I think we're friends, now."  
"The rebel and the Schnee. I think I read a book like this once," Blake quips. I hear someone next to her say something. "It's Ruby, go back to sleep," she tells someone. "Hey, what are-"

"Ruby!" Sun greets. "Why are you awake at this hour?"  
"It's been a long day," I reply. "Research. Mostly. I just need Blake to do something for me to help out."  
"Well, get home safe, okay?"  
"Of course," I grin. "It's me."  
"Yeah, that's why I'm worried. Anyway, we're looking for a new place for the three of us. Thanks for letting us use your bed," wait, what? "We'll be sure to change the sheets before you return."

WHAT?  
"GIVE ME THAT!" Blake shouts. There's a struggle, what sounds like a kick and GUNFIRE, and suddenly Blake is back on the line. "Ignore him, Ruby," Blake, did you- "Don't worry about it," I SLEEP ON THAT BED. "Anyway, I'll get you what you want," Oh no, don't you DARE dodge the issue at hand! Could you not go like a hotel or something?! "Look, it was an accident," What. "Well, just things sometimes happen."

"Best accident of my life," Sun says in the background.  
"SHUT YOUR FACE," Blake shouts at him. "A-anyway, Ruby, I'll start work on it first thing in the morning. I've been busy with other things," Yeah, like Sun. CHANGE THE SHEETS LIKE YOU SAID YOU WOULD. "Goodnight, Ruby."

I hang up the scroll. God, _these **people**_.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, as you may have noticed (or you may not), all of my chapters are named after songs. Ruby is associated with K-pop in this story, so all of her chapters are named after songs from there. The songs for the first six chapters are as follows:
> 
> 1\. A Girl Like Me - Gu9udan  
> 2\. We Are Bulletproof Pt. 2 - BTS  
> 3\. Palette - IU (feat. G-Dragon)  
> 4\. Decalcomanie - Mamamoo  
> 5\. Chase Me - Dreamcatcher  
> 6\. DNA - BTS


End file.
